Star Citizen player gets a partial refund from CIG in spite of the studio’s legal arguments to the contrary

    
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Getting a refund out of Star Citizen can often seem like pulling teeth, yet one player who goes by the name of BlueBackground is finally claiming victory after three weeks of waiting… but not without some legal bickering out of Cloud Imperium Games.

According to BlueBackground, CIG sent him a letter informing him of the refund, which opens with several paragraphs’ worth of arguments against granting his request, including a reminder that players have to agree multiple times that they understand SC is in an alpha state, an argument that he isn’t covered by 2015’s UK Consumer Rights Act as he cited in his request, a note that the sandbox has gotten regular quarterly patches that “consistently expand and improve the game’s playable environments and functionality,” and the presumption that his 274 hours’ worth of playtime since 2022 “shows use and enjoyment of the game and rebuts the false allegation that the game has not been released.”

Even after all of the rigamarole, and in spite of the player’s refund request falling outside of the 14-day-long “no questions asked” refund policy, the letter closes with confirmation that CIG will be issuing some of his money back as a sign of “good faith in appreciation of [the player’s] past support”; the amount of the refund was not disclosed, though it looks to be a sizeable chunk of change.

“Your demands are unfounded and no refund is owed. […] Nonetheless, and without any obligation to do so, we are prepared to offer you a partial reversal of certain transactions,” reads part of the letter.

BlueBackground reasons that he got his money back because of pressure from other players and because his buy-in included Squadron 42, while he also explains that his long play time was more indicative of tedium than enjoyment as the email argues. “I am shocked I got a refund however, I was almost certain I wouldn’t receive it or at least not this fast,” he writes.

In other SC news, the game has begun its Foundation Festival, which includes new referral programs, rewards for those who use a new player guide system, and a free-fly event that’s operating between now and July 17th.

sources: Reddit (1, 2), press release, official site thanks to Yojinbok for the tip!
Longtime MMORPG gamers will know that Star Citizen was originally Kickstarted for over $2M back in 2012 with a planned launch for 2014. As of 2022, it still lingers in an incomplete but playable alpha, having raised over $500M from gamers over years of continuing crowdfunding and sales of in-game ships and other assets. It is currently the highest-crowdfunded video game ever and has endured both indefatigable loyalty from advocates and immense skepticism from critics. A co-developed single-player title, Squadron 42, has also been repeatedly delayed.
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