This article was taken from the May 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Chris Roberts didn't plan for Star Citizen to be the biggest crowdfunded endeavour on record. He just knew that ten years after selling his last games company to Microsoft, he wanted to sidestep the cost and complexity of working with a traditional publisher. His goal in October 2012 was to raise $2 million (£1.2m), to show potential investors there was interest in a free-roaming, multiplayer space exploration game built for powerful gaming PCs. Sixteen months later he was, at the time of writing, closing in on $40 million, from over 400,000 backers.
This success is due in part to Roberts's reputation. Once the news leaked that the director of the iconic Wing Commander series had a new studio -- Cloud Imperium Games -- and a new idea, it took just 39 days to raise $4,104,189 -- and another $2,134,374 from a concurrent Kickstarter appeal. "If the campaign resonates, and the developers share ideas and video, the community gets excited," Roberts explains. "I'd noticed other campaigns did that for a month, and then stopped once they were funded. I don't know why -- it's not just about raising money -- it's about the way the community engages."
Roberts, 45, maintains momentum with live events, video diaries and promotions such as a $30,000 competition to design the "Next Great Starship". Donors can already customise their spaceship in a virtual hangar. Modelled down to buttons on control panels, the ships are promoted with glossy "commercials" built in the game's 3D engine.
Meanwhile, the fundraising continues, to the tune of a reported 12-15,000 new payments per month, ranging from $30 entry-level "Aurora MR" ships to the $10,000 "Wing Commander" package (the $15,000 "Completionist" seems to have sold out already).
Success comes with complications. A planned pair of development offices became three (California, Texas and Roberts's childhood home of Manchester in the UK), and high buyer-numbers meant delaying the release of a planned space-combat module: "We're looking at 200,000 people wanting to dogfight on day one," he says.
The full release, planned for 2015, promises a persistent online galaxy to explore. As more modules emerge, Roberts expects the crowdfunding to die off, replaced by regular sales and in-game revenue. Until then, the sky -- and the stars -- are the limit.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
