[Update: ArsTechnica now reports that a Cloud Imperium rep has gone on the record stating that some of the Redditor’s claims are fabrication, including the amount (CIG maintains it was $330, not $45000) and that the screenshots and videos depicting poor customer service are forgeries. We can confirm the same statements have now been made to us by the same CIG rep. Cheers, Cotic! The original article follows.]
If you’re as “fed up” with waiting for Star Citizen as Chris Roberts is “fed up” with providing endless moving release dates for alpha 3.0, there’s one recourse left to you: get a refund.
That appears to be precisely what one guild has done. A report on ArsTechnica points to claims on the Star Citizen Refunds subreddit, where an anonymous player has seemingly provided proof to the public and to moderators that he and his guild sought and received refunds on $45,000 worth of completionist packages (three for $15,000 apiece). He makes clear his antagonism toward the game, too.
“We sidelined many other great games and commercial opportunities waiting for Star Citizen, but in the end we can’t wait any longer, and a new generation is joining also who have absolutely no interest,” Redditor Mogmentum claims. “The final straw was evidence presented the committee of Chris Roberts blatantly lying, we don’t mind the delays but couldn’t handle the lies anymore, and it left us wondering what else he is knowingly lying about.” He doesn’t elaborate on those accusations.
He also claims “it was a nightmare getting the refund” because of the ID required and corporate credit card process. “Total it took about 5 weeks to get sorted,” he alleges. “They definitely try to delay you as much as possible in the hope you’ll forget or give up.”
The subreddit is filled with claims like this one, though this is surely among the highest – if it’s legitimate. (The general Star Citizen sub, we should note, is skeptical, and has further pointed out that the game earns more from backers in a single day than this refund cost.)
We have reached out to CIG’s PR for comment, but generally studios do not comment on their finances or player accounts, so don’t hold your breath.
Star Citizen has had a bit of a rough couple of weeks; following its impressive real-time facial animation display at Gamescom, CIG has been talking up its survival mechanics, including perceived nuisances or trivialities (depending on your view) like defecation effects while slowly whittling down the alpha 3.0 bug list. A delayed Gamescom interview published this week by Eurogamer has been criticized as a seemingly frustrated Chris Roberts suggested he was tired of “fan trolling” and people asking him for release dates, though he also rejects the exhausting notion that the game is a scam.
