The long-delayed crowdfunded video game Star Citizen currently has the largest budget of any video game in history. Currently, the price tag of the game is more than Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 combined. This is the last of Star Citizen’s crowdfunding records.Star Citizen launched its first Kickstarter campaign with a relatively modest goal of $2 million. The game was presented as the spiritual successor to the Wing Commander games, and the project was led by series leader Chris Roberts. At this point, the development of Star Citizen and its single-player scenario, Squadron 42, has been going on for over ten years.
The most expensive game in history
In September 2022, Star Citizen’s crowdfunding budget exceeded $500 million. As of the time of this writing, this amount has exceeded 591 million dollars. And the game doesn’t seem to have a release date, either.To put it in perspective, Grand Theft Auto 5’s budget was $137 million, Red Dead Redemption 2’s $170 million and Cyberpunk 2077’s $174 million. What that means is the fact that the cost of Star Citizen has now exceeded the combined budget of three of the most expensive video games of the past decade.
Not sure when it will come out
Star Citizen was the most expensive video game ever made, even before it hit the $500 million mark. The only game that could come close to its budget was BioWare’s 2011 MMO RPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it was estimated to cost around $200 million to produce. That said, the game has at least given players the ability to play it one way or another for several years. However, it should be noted that Star Citizen has at least given players the opportunity to play in some way for a few years.
The first version of the game went live in 2013. Since then, the developer has gradually updated the game and added new content while asking players to purchase new ships. Star Citizen’s latest update was released in May, and this update has brought its fair share of controversy. The price tag of the game will likely continue to increase as time goes on and more updates are released for the game. It is not yet clear whether the full version of the game will be released in digital showcases.
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