Star Citizen costs more to make than the biggest AAA games

Star Citizen, the space game-slash-dogfighter-slash-simulator from Cloud Imperium, is officially more expensive than the biggest AAA games combined. The Star Citizen funding page updated with a new funding total: $598,220,048.

Yes, that’s half a billion dollars to make one video game.

For context, that’s more than the three most expensive AAA games cost to make combined. Grand Theft Auto V from Rockstar cost $137 million; Red Dead Redemption 2, also from Rockstar, was estimated to cost about $170 million; and Cyberpunk 2077 from Witcher-maker CD Projekt RED cost the studio $174 million.

Star Citizen began development in 2012 and makes money primarily by selling unique ships with special features to players that they can use in the game – if the game actually existed in playable form, which it doesn’t, at least not in full. Prospective fans have spent thousands of dollars over the past decade for the promise of something they may eventually have if the game ever launches, though they can tinker around with one of the many bug-filled, incomplete Star Citizen alpha builds.

Cloud Imperium’s handling of the simulation game‘s development hasn’t been without controversy. In 2019, an extensive report from Forbes included allegations of poor management and questionable use of funds from former development team members, most of whom believed the game would never actually launch. They alleged that the studio head, Chris Roberts, has no vision for the game and just keeps adding planned features and concepts despite knowing they’re impossible to deliver.

Still, people continue to believe in the idea of Star Citizen. CCU Game, an app that helps would-be players track their purchases and buybacks, shows that Cloud Imperium received $113 million in pledges in 2022 – the game’s announcement anniversary – and has already brought in $49 million in the first five months of 2023.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF