Summary
- Developer Cloud Imperium Games will release Flight Blade ship components for all players in June 2025, addressing pay-to-win complaints.
- Star Citizen faced backlash for offering Flight Blade components exclusively through the Pledge Store, requiring additional real-world money.
- Despite heavy crowdfunding, Star Citizen still has no full version release date, but plans to release 11 patches in 2025.
Star Citizen is walking back a controversial feature, announcing the release of its Flight Blade ship components for all players will be coming in June 2025. Flight Blades had been released in Star Citizen on May 15 exclusively through the game’s Pledge Store, but a day later, developer Cloud Imperium Games released a clarification following pay-to-win complaints from many of the game’s fans.
Facing one of the most historically lengthy alpha periods in gaming, the first build of Star Citizen was released nearly 12 and a half years ago. The game had already become the most successful crowdfunded project ever by the middle of 2013, with more than $9 million raised at that time, and its backers have made even heavier investments since then, showing their dedication to the project.
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One big item in the game’s latest update was Star Citizen‘s controversial addition of Flight Blades, a ship component type that allows players to boost either a ship’s speed or maneuverability at the cost of the other stat. Players were not upset with the components themselves but with how they were offered only through the Pledge Store, requiring additional pledge contributions of around $15 to $35 of real-world money, depending on ship type, instead of in-game currency. In a message to fans, the developer has tried to appease players by letting them know that they will have access to Flight Blades through the in-game store soon, planning to make them available in the game’s monthly update patch in June. While players making additional donations through the Pledge Store have been offered early access to some other game features in the past, Cloud Imperium’s reflection on the recent update has led to its recent decision to make smaller components available to all players at the same time.
Star Citizen Quashes Pay-to-Win Controversy
The message notes that 2025 is going to be a big year for Star Citizen. Despite Cloud Imperium’s layoffs late last year, the developer has plans to release a total of 11 patches for Star Citizen in 2025 instead of the four that are released during most years. Seeming to ask forgiveness for the early release of Flight Blades and the resulting backlash from fans, the developer states, “in moving that fast, we missed a step.”
Throughout its development cycle, Star Citizen has relied solely on crowdfunding, recently surpassing $800 million raised, so keeping its fan base satisfied has been a key factor in Cloud Imperium’s development model. While the initial goal stated that just $20 million would be required for its completion, there is still no release date for Star Citizen‘s full version in sight, though the recent ramp-up in development is providing hope to some fans.
Star Citizen
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star engine
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Local Multiplayer
