Star Citizen has been in development for a whopping 14 years now, having accumulated well over a billion dollars in the process – so, how's it looking so far?
Apparently, not great. First revealed way back in 2012 by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, the multiplayer space game's developers have boasted about various features and many unfulfilled promises over the years since.
It's become a bit infamous online, with countless content creators covering the $1 billion or so backing Star Citizen (notably all via crowdfunding, mind you) and lack of any solid release date over a decade on.
The controversy surrounding Star Citizen is back in the limelight now thanks to a recent live stream hosted by Cloud Imperium Games, the studio behind the perpetually in-progress project – a live stream that, erm, didn't exactly go too well.
If you missed it, you can find clips of it over on YouTube via reaction videos and the like (thanks, Kira and penguinz0), but put simply, it showcases a buggy mess from start to finish.
So much so, in fact, that the devs start sounding almost… passive aggressive toward one another? There's clearly a lot of discontent at the studio, to say the least.
Heck, at some moments, the devs are unable to even reload their weapons, and they're playing a private build that should be the best, most up-to-date version of Star Citizen – not a public test build or any server fans backing the game have access to themselves.
It ends quite abruptly as well, leaving a sour taste in fans' mouths – and devs don't seem any happier than the community by the stream's conclusion.
Comments show that the little faith some had left in Cloud Imperium Games has all but vanished after the stream, with one chiming in under Kira's reaction video, "That studio is one ex-employee tell-all away from total collapse." Another adds, "Limitless money and they still can't get it right."
The damage done by this stream will last for YEARS lmaofrom r/starcitizen
The conversation isn't just limited to YouTube, though.
Over on Reddit, morale is at an all-time low, too. "The damage done by this stream will last for YEARS," exclaims one viewer. Others dub the stream "such a shit show," with some writing, "hopefully they will learn a lesson from this."
I'm not too certain they will myself, but evidently, something has to change. We shouldn't be thinking that the stream should've never gone live this far on.
It's tough to stomach, honestly, especially seeing as Cloud Imperium Games hoped the game would be "an event almost as important" as GTA 6 come its launch – a hope I'm not so sure will be fulfilled at this point… ever.
Need something more solid to look forward to? Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond to wishlist right now.
