HHow much does it cost to make a video game? The development costs for blockbuster games are closely guarded trade secrets, but they’re rising year by year in preparation for Hollywood-style mega-spending.

Due to industry leaks, exposure How major video game budgets are ballooning to $100 million, $200 million, and even more. The cost of Call of Duty, one of the best-selling franchises, has ballooned to $700m (£573m), but it’s just a number It was recently revealed When reporters took a closer look at court filings.

But there’s one game whose budget is no secret at all. Vast multiplayer space simulator Star Citizen releases funding on the website And they are updated in real time. Currently, that amount is $777,145,107 (this number will be outdated as soon as this article is published). It will quickly surpass $800 million, and will probably break through the roof within a year or so, becoming the world’s first billion-dollar video game.

Unless we lose another big game – and then Some of the things in productionThe cost is likely not disclosed, but if it were, it would be the most expensive piece of entertainment ever produced. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, most expensive movie ever madecosts about half that.

Star Citizen’s numbers are public because the PC game is being funded by players themselves, not investors.

“The heart of Star Citizen is fandom,” says Rhys Elliott, a gaming industry analyst at London-based market research firm MIDiA Research. “This is more of a movement than a game. There’s a mutual commitment between developers and players to create something cool and innovative that hasn’t been seen before.”

British-American video game developer Chris Roberts – famous figure in the 1990s wing commander spacecraft Fighting Series – Started as Star Citizen Crowdfunding project In 2012, it promised to create a digital universe so large, yet so detailed, that players would “forget it’s a game.”

He raised his first $2 million on Kickstarter and has since grown that amount, driven by fans willing to invest in plans so ambitious that profitable, deadline-focused publishers wouldn’t consider the risks. continues to grow.

Years later, early versions of the game were available for fans to test, but they were almost always unplayable, constantly freezing or crashing. It’s only recently that Star Citizen has started to look and feel like a real video game.

YouTube is full of videos of players cruising around the Star Citizen world. Their spaceship flies seamlessly from a space station, descending through the planet’s atmosphere and landing in a sci-fi style city, before heading on foot into caverns deep underground. Warp holes have been added to the game, allowing players to jump between two solar systems.

“Space games are so easy to get excited about,” says Oliver Hull, who runs events focused on the games. YouTube channel The number of subscribers is 1.56 million. “It’s a very beautiful game. Visually, I think people look at it and think, ‘Oh, what’s this all about?'”

Hal, 32, used to play a lot of other games like Grand Theft Auto, but now he mainly plays Star Citizen, where he has to mine asteroids and attack space pirates. Most of the videos are posted of them running around looking for things to do. In Hal’s videos, you can often see him getting frustrated when things don’t go his way. But that’s part of the interest, he says.

“Frankly, this game is still in development,” he says. “When something doesn’t work as intended, it doesn’t bother me too much because it’s like a work in progress. If anything, I think it’s very interesting from a game development perspective.”

What drives fans of Star Citizen is the rough edges of the game, the promise of what the future holds, and seeing the game slowly move in that direction. “I can’t think of many games like Star Citizen,” says Hull. “It’s not finished yet, but I think it’s very appealing, the fact that there’s nothing else that can match it.”

It may not be over yet, but people have continued to pay for Star Citizen. Starter ships cost $45, and the game currently includes over 80 flyable ships. The most expensive ones currently available cost over £500.

Pre-release versions allow development team Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) to test how the game works with live players during development. But it also gives funders a tangible glimpse into the long and complex process of game development, rather than waiting years for a full release.

As time goes on, it becomes increasingly important to satisfy the community. Many fans are currently donating large sums of money, including through a controversial money-making scheme in which CIG pre-sells future spaceships online. Some so-called “superbackers” Spent well over $10,000.

Elliott, the industry analyst, said fans are “putting so much money into it, and they’re really emotionally invested.”

The development team is also feeling pressure from the community. Allegations in industry media CIG management was criticized for imposing long working hours. a A 2016 survey by gaming website Kotaku It quoted a former employee who described “crisis” practices in which development teams were asked to work overtime before major milestones, such as gaming tournaments. Roberts told Kotaku at the time that he didn’t want “crunch as a culture.”

CIG describes Star Citizen as “the largest open development game in existence,” but its ambitions have meant the game has been in development for more than a decade, with frustrating delays. In a 2012 interview with Roberts, the Guardian reported that the game was planned to be released two years later, in 2014. Questions are regularly asked on fan forums about whether the game will be released properly.

But late last year, signs of hope began to appear. For the first time, C.I.G. Revealed what the final launch version will look likeprovides a clear vision of what is and is not included, even if no date is specified.

But what they offered was a 2026 release date for Squadrons 42, a standalone single-player game. It’s a story-driven tale set within the broader Star Citizen universe, starring a Hollywood voice cast including Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, and Robinson. Andy Serkis.

We can certainly expect more delays, but the end may finally be in sight.

A game made traditionally through an established publisher with investors expecting a return couldn’t survive 13 years of development without a finished product. Star Citizen was able to buck the trend of other industries in the grip of rising costs and regular layoffs. Its main backers are players rather than investors, and their motivations are different.

“I think Star Citizen’s funders saw this as a direct way to fight back against corporatization and support a passion project of the highest order,” Elliott says. “Success isn’t about maximizing value and return on investment through spreadsheets alone, it’s about putting fans at the center.”