Star Citizen may be a game currently in the decades of development but it has not stopped Roberts Space Industries from trying to extract as much money from fans as possible. Not content with raising over $650 million in crowd-funding for a title that appears to be no closer to completion, the developers are happy to charge over the odds for DLC.
The bundle of digital ships in question will cost you a cool £46,080. Yes, you read that correctly, 46 thousand pounds sterling or roughly around 48 thousand dollars. You may think that this is some sort of a joke but unfortunately, this is far from it and the developers seem to be more than happy to fleece anyone with more money than sense.
Star Citizen’s Latest DLC is… Enormous
The Legatus 2953 bundle consists of 175 ships and the definitive armada is said to empower every fleet commander to lead humans to a brighter future and leave a lasting legacy. It may be that if people are stupid enough to part with nearly $50K of their money then there will indeed be a lasting legacy, perhaps not a positive one.
We should point out, however, that on top of the $48 thousand that prospective buyers will have to shell out for the aforementioned bundle, they have to part with a further $10 thousand to get access to this. The bundle is locked behind the game’s Chairman’s Club and access is only allowed once players spend at least $10 thousand in the store. Those trying their luck without shelling out the $10K will be met with an error message, advising that you don’t have access.
Looking at the funding page on the official Dev website we can see that there are currently over 5 million star citizens (at the time of writing) and it remains to be seen what percentage of these people will be willing to shell out for this bundle. We can only assume that the majority of these fans are those who have helped crowd-fund the project and are still waiting patiently for a full release.
Just to put this into context, the cost of this bundle from Roberts Space Industries is around £10K more than the average person in the UK makes a year. Many people could buy themselves a brand new top-of-the-range car for what this bundle costs or put a substantial deposit down for a house. That’s right, actual physical things that you could own, not a digital bundle.
The MMORPG which first entered development back in 2012 is no stranger to overcharging and it was through the sales of virtual ships for hundreds of pounds which led to the amount was raised to what it sits at currently. Over $650 million raised for a game is a substantial amount but given the length of time without a full release date, questions should be asked.
Whilst the multiplayer game does look good, it is now in the second decade of development and is still regarded as being in the ‘Alpha’ stage. There’s nothing from the developers as to when the finish line might be in sight and it may just be a matter of time before they decide to release another extortionate bundle for some poor fools to purchase.
The prospect of exploring space has always been a passion for many people and that is evident from the amount of fans who have pledged to the crowd-funding for the title. However, with games like Starfield surely there is a cheaper way to enjoy this without having to part with, what is for some, a full year’s wages.
In a time when many people are struggling financially and the cost of living is ever present, the fact that Roberts Space Industries are charging for a digital bundle which amounts to more than the average person makes in a year, simply beggars belief. For fans who have more money than sense and are happy to part with the ridiculous amount of money being asked for the Star Citizen bundle, you may need your head checked.
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