CIG has found ways to get money out of the backers of Star Citizen enough times that it’s earned the dubious honor of being a practical annual shoe-in for our Worst Business Model award. It would appear that the studio – along with some of the game’s more diehard supporters – is not learning its lesson, as one fan is hoping to illuminate in the game’s official forums, calling attention to recent funding moves made by CIG.
One of the first spotlights thrown on SC involves the game’s Luminalia holiday, which promised 12 days of gifts to be handed out to visitors of the event’s landing page. On day six of the giveaway, all that was offered was a “sneak peek” at a digital goodies pack that was coming soon, ultimately coming to a reveal of a new hoverbike on day 12. However, that free gift was not an actual free hoverbike but a free picture of one, leading many to refer to the gifts as advertisements. The post further notes that CIG stealth-changed the “Reveal” link to “Reveal-Wallpaper.”
Another point of the post called attention to the price disparity between the Cutlass Black and the newly added Cutlass Steel. The post’s complaint is that the former has more features than the latter, as the Steel trades cargo capacity for the extra seats; while the Steel is a troop transport and the Black is a fighter/freighter, the post reasons that the difference between the variants isn’t enough to warrant a $110 price jump. The Steel has also become the target of some player derision as well as another round of memes.
Speaking of price jumps, another post on Reddit highlighted a new price for the Chairman’s Club exclusive 2021 Legatus Pack, which now comes in at an eye-watering $40,000. Presumably, this pack comes with nearly every ship available or soon to be available in the game like in packs of previous years, though that is not confirmed. As one can imagine, many replies are trying to come to grips with the value of spending that much for internet spaceships.
