Cloud Imperium Games’ has recently secured a private investment of $46 Million as announced by the creator of Star Citizen today. Along with the announcement, a release window was also given about the release of the sing-player; Star Citizen Squadron 42. The release is expected sometime in the summer of 2020.
The release is going to come almost 8 years after its initial Kickstarter campaign began back in 2012. Nevertheless, the recent investment has come from the billionaire record produced Clive Calder and his son Keith. This in exchange has given the pair about 10% of the shares of Cloud Imperium Games and have several seats on the board of directors.
Star Citizen is now the most funded crowdfunding project ever, with the recent investment bringing the project at a value of nearly half a billion dollars. The income the kickstart got last year in 2017 was $34 million, which makes the figure roughly equivalent to one year full of funding from backers and private funders.
Chris Roberts, who is the creator of Star Citizen announced about the investment and added that much of the additional funding will be spent on promoting Squadron 42, which is filled with a star studded cast such as Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Liam Cunningham and many other Hollywood A-Listers. Chris Stated,
We are building two of the most ambitious games ever embarked on in gaming, with budgets that are unmatched by all but the very biggest projects.
We have been acutely aware that having a AAA game that matches the biggest single player games out there only goes so far if no one knows about it. Because of this, we started to investigate ways to raise money to fund the upcoming marketing and release needs of Squadron 42.
During this process we were introduced to Clive Calder and his son Keith, who have both been interested in the confluence of entertainment with the ability to directly connect with an audience online.
During the course of these discussions it became clear to me that if Clive and Keith joined us as investors in our company, we’d have true partners that respected what we had built, but also fully understood the ins and outs and the patience required with a business based on creating entertainment. Taking in like-minded partners helps us solve the need of funding the marketing and release of Squadron 42, but also stay attuned to what makes us special.
In Squadron 42, which is said to be a cinematic single player adventure, you will see yourself playing as a rookie combat pilot, where you will come in contact with the characters that are being played by these celebrities.
Squadron 42 will cost you $45 and will give you instant access to the Arena Commander mode, which is a racing/dogfighting mode in the game. However, the mode is still in development with no hint of a release date.
Over the years, Star Citizen has given out such playable modes for PC players in a series of alpha components since 2013. From exploration to combat in space were the main features of these playable components.
What do you think of the news? Is the investment going to help release the single player? Or do you think Cloud Imperium should use the money on improving game features instead of promoting Squadron 42? Post your comments below.