Star Citizen's crowdfunding efforts hit $300 million

Ambitious space-sim Star Citizen has hit another milestone, recently topping an eye-watering $300 million (£240m) with its most recent crowdfunding efforts.

The wildly successful space simulator that boasts a "persistent universe" from Cloud Imperium Games has had a massive surge in donations this month, jumping from around $4 million (£3.1m) in donations April 2020 to a whopping $15 million (£11.9 million) in May 2020, according to the crowdfunding timeline graph on the official website.

The site also intimates that the game now claims 2.7 million users, too, although it's unclear which of those are active players and not just those that have signed up to see what all the fuss is about in free-to-play events, the most recent of which ran at the end of May (thanks, Twinfinite).

In related news, the CI team recently debuted an all-new behind-the-scenes video. Marking "Alien Week" for the sci-fi game, Star Citizen's narrative team answer fan questions about the "lore, history and background on the alien races of Star Citizen".

As Connor summarised a little while back, Star Citizen is the most crowdfunded thing, er, ever, but Star Citizen has become one of the strangest stories in modern gaming. But though it's enjoyed by millions of people, Star Citizen might just prove that more crowdfunding isn't always a good thing, particularly as the bigger something gets, the slower it gets, too…

“The race isn't finished yet," creator Chris Roberts said several years ago when the game had generated "just" £124m. "Wait till the finish line is crossed and then I'll say people can make judgments about whether it was the right way or not. Instinctively, it was the way that felt right to me."