When 200 decommissioned Javelin Destroyers were listed for sale at $2,500 each, they vanished in under a minute. For interstellar mercenaries in the United Empire of Earth Navy—or for enthusiastic players roleplaying as them in Star Citizen, the acclaimed space simulation game designed by Chris Roberts—this offer was simply too enticing to pass up.
However, with the actual release of Star Citizen potentially years away, purchasers of the Destroyers—and the countless fans who have collectively contributed $100 million to the game’s crowdfunding campaign—are merely investing in a vision. Every contribution, whether it’s an average of $96 or as much as $22,500 from devoted supporters like Wulf Knight, helps to build new elements of a game universe that currently only exists in imagination: a hangar for fictional spaceships, unique alien languages, and a comprehensive interstellar public transportation network.
This raises questions about Roberts, who shaped the space simulation genre with Wing Commander back in 1990: Is he a misguided dreamer or a champion of authentic PC gaming? Is the crowdfunding model a practical alternative to the limitations imposed by major studio productions, or is it merely an elaborate ruse?