# Star Citizen is the Future of PC Gaming, and it \[was\] Free to Play this week (Edit: No Longer Free) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [October 13, 2015, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528 "2015-10-13T06:29:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 57
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1121 "2026-01-28T21:03:28Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > > It’ll probably never even get to 1.0. I think that has been the prediction for well over a decade. Almost a **billion** dollars to fund vaporware. This game will be legendary, but not in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1122 "2026-05-25T18:28:25Z")
It was bound to happen but still hard to believe. > **[Star Citizen tops $1 billion crowdfunding milestone as "$5000 JPEG" spaceship...](https://www.eurogamer.net/star-citizen-tops-1-billion-sells-5000-unflyable-spaceship)** > > It's official: Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium Games' multiplayer sci-fi sim, has now topped $1 billion in crowdfunding. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1123 "2026-05-25T18:36:30Z")
…the milestone comes as the game launches a new $5000 (£3700) spaceship, the Anvil Odin capital ship, which is not even available yet. It went on sale as a “limited vehicle concept pledge” with no firm release date. Ah, yes - the “limited vehicle concept pledge.” Have I said ‘Jesus wept’ in this thread yet? I have? That’s not stopping me…Jesus wept 😑. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1124 "2026-05-25T18:45:40Z")
if you read further, you need more than five grand to buy that picture of a spaceship. You have to write an essay explaining why you deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1125 "2026-05-26T00:45:18Z")
> On top of the $5K, players had to write an essay to apply to join the Odin Founders Club. CIG said it received “applications from captains all over the world, each sharing their stories, organisations, experiences, and visions for what commanding a battlecruiser in Star Citizen means to them”. > > “Now, you may complete your Odin Founders Club journey by pledging for this inaugural debut of the Anvil Aerospace Odin battlecruiser during DefenseCon 2956,” CIG explained. “The Odin represents a meaningful milestone for us internally, as its introduction closes out the final remaining vehicle stretch goals established at the very beginning of the project’s journey more than a decade ago.” I’m guessing they’ll find a way to monetize those essays without compensating the authors. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1126 "2026-05-26T01:52:16Z")
Wait, their experiences? You’d need to have a game before you can have experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1127 "2026-05-26T03:41:02Z")
[I was off by 11 months.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/999) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1128 "2026-05-26T03:53:05Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m guessing they’ll find a way to monetize those essays without compensating the authors. Probably feeding them as training data for some large language model bot. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1129 "2026-05-26T09:14:11Z")
I don’t understand how long this can go on. What in the world are people buying make believe stuff in 2026 even thinking? I mean, is it a performative action to reassure themselves that they weren’t insane for paying in previous years by showing commitment? It has been insane for 10+ years but does it ever stop or will people taking mortgages out on $100,000 make believe ships in 2035? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1130 "2026-05-26T12:48:08Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > On top of the $5K, players had to write an essay to apply to join the Odin Founders Club. “Founders club” of a game that’s existed for over a decade, sort of. Come on, this is a cult. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1131 "2026-05-26T12:54:49Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I don’t understand how long this can go on. What in the world are people buying make believe stuff in 2026 even thinking? I mean, is it a performative action to reassure themselves that they weren’t insane for paying in previous years by showing commitment? It has been insane for 10+ years but does it ever stop or will people taking mortgages out on $100,000 make believe ships in 2035? The [sunk cause fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Fallacy_effect) is a thing, and people can act _extremely_ self-destructively because “if I give up, it’ll have all been for nothing”. _Star Citizen_ is pretty much _Sunk Cost: The Game_ at this point, I think. It’ll stop at _some_ point, but I don’t think anyone can really predict when. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1132 "2026-05-26T13:27:05Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > What in the world are people buying make believe stuff in 2026 even thinking? They’re thinking exactly what you thought when this thread started in 2015: that this is the most ambitious game of all time and anybody who thinks otherwise is probably a jealous hater. A lot of folks have come around, but a lot more are essentially paying monthly subscriptions in the form of pledges and then spending even more on top of it just like in any other live service game. Its absolutely wild but they managed to make a classic exploitative live service game that bypassed the “make a functional game” step. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1133 "2026-05-26T19:27:46Z")
I’ve bought worse games for $40, but yeah after the money they’ve spent on SC it’s sort of ridiculous. It’s like they’re building a skyscraper but keep jumping around and putting way too much time into mundane things like polishing a countertop when there isn’t even a floor in the room yet. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1134 "2026-05-26T19:46:07Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It’s like they’re building a skyscraper but keep jumping around and putting way too much time into mundane things like polishing a countertop when there isn’t even a floor in the room yet. It’s called: > **[Feature creep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_creep)** > > Feature creep is the excessive ongoing expansion or addition of new features in a product, especially in computer software, video games (where it should not be confused with power creep) and consumer and business electronics. These extra features go beyond the basic function of the product and can result in software bloat and over-complication, rather than simple design. > The definition of what qualifies as "feature creep" varies among end users, where what is perceived as such by some users may ... And it’s not a surprise given how the goals of the project were insanely (and frankly unattainably) ambitious from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1135 "2026-05-26T19:55:28Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The [sunk cause fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Fallacy_effect) is a thing, and people can act _extremely_ self-destructively because “if I give up, it’ll have all been for nothing”. _Star Citizen_ is pretty much _Sunk Cost: The Game_ at this point, I think. What is somewhat more puzzling though is that in the case of some $5000 ship in Star Citizen, there is no need to do that to continue being a participant in Star Citizen. They don’t delete your account if you don’t buy the StarTech MegaBattleCock this week. You still have all the other pictures of ships you bought before and can still “play” the incomplete game. You can spend hours in it and the graphics are pretty good, it’s just hopelessly incomplete, alpha buggy and in many, many respects a poorly designed game even when it works. Scams that rely on sunk cost fallacy, or even business situations where it takes effect, involve the NECESSITY of investing more money to continue on with the endeavour. The Spanish Prisoner con artist tells you they need another $10,000 to get you the $25,000,000 payoff or whatever and if the mark expresses reluctance, they’re told they lose the whole opportunity if they don’t keep paying. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1136 "2026-05-26T19:59:58Z")
Yes, I don’t think it’s sunk costs for exactly the reason RickJay states. You don’t have to necessarily dig yourself deeper if the situation requires nothing more from you. I considered that it might be a sort of performative commitment – if you’re someone who has been excited about star citizens stuff and keeps buying stupid bullshit, you may keep buying stupid bullshit as a performance you’re putting on for yourself that you’re just enthusiastic as you were you can delay having the reckoning to face that you were stupid before. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1137 "2026-05-26T20:46:44Z")
The $5K pictures of ships aren’t a sunk cost fallacy (that just applies to supporting the project as a whole), but rather FOMO (fear of missing out). As stated in the article: > It went on sale as a “limited vehicle concept pledge” with no firm release date. In other words, buy it now while it’s still available. Sure, it’s a lot of money, but years from now you’ll be flying your exclusive ship while people look on in envy. (Or so the thought goes.) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1138 "2026-05-26T23:24:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Sure, it’s a lot of money, but years from now you’ll be flying your exclusive ship while people look on in envy “Flying” and “look.” I mean, I love computer games. But they’re still just computer games. This whole sad saga is just so hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s an infinite mirror of clown cars. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1139 "2026-05-26T23:44:45Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > “Flying” and “look.” I mean, I love computer games. But they’re still just computer games. I assume that a lot of people buying these things are those who see $5K as pocket money, the kind of money you’d spend having fun on a typical weekend. Not normal folks who would consider that a major purchase that you’d have to save up for and budget, and it would have to be something really important, not a whim. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/1140 "2026-05-27T00:54:48Z")
You’d think, but there are stories all the time about people that lose their house because they get addicted and spend $80,000 on candy crush. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528.md?page=56) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528.md?page=58)