Cloud Imperium Games has responded to players unhappy about the recent introduction of “pay to win” flight blades in Star Citizen, admitting it “missed a step”.
While Star Citizen’s community doesn’t typically shy away from financially supporting the game’s 12-year-old early access period, on this occasion, players took umbrage that even though the blades give an undeniable in-game advantage, they had been introduced as a premium item that could not be earned organically through gameplay.
The fallout has been so intense, CIG has now posted a statement, stressing to players that they will be able to obtain flight blades through the in-game currency aUEC “in our next patch this June” and said that “for future gameplay kit introductions, we’ll ensure these items are obtainable in-game on day one”.
“We’re pushing 11 patches this year instead of 4. We’re crushing more bugs than ever, building more exciting content, moving faster than ever to make the Persistent Universe a better experience for everyone, and in moving that fast, we missed a step,” stressed Tyler “Zyloh-CIG” Witkin (thanks, PC Gamer).
“To be clear, the new Flight Blades will be obtainable for aUEC in our next patch this June. We followed our usual approach by offering early access on the pledge store to help support development. But after some reflection, we’ve decided that for smaller components like Flight Blades or bomb racks, they should be available in-game at the same time they appear on the store.
“The choice has and should always be yours,” the statement continued. “If you want to support the project early, you can, but it’s not required.
“Thanks to everyone who’s weighed in, especially those who brought the heat constructively. This game has always been shaped by the community,” Witkin concluded.” Star Citizen wouldn’t exist without your passion and support, or your scrutiny and feedback. We hear you, and we take it all to heart.”
Not all players were mollified, however.
“This is meant to be constructive, but you cannot keep the status quo and move up the in game part a little faster and act like you have solved the root of the problem,” responded one. “This is a bandaid to calm people down, but the root issue here is that you continue to sell more and more items in the game that have a wider impact on what a player would do day to day.
“Everyone knows the convienence of the pledgestore would outweigh any gameplay in an MMO that is meant to be played and slowly gained progress over years…”
“Flight blades were kept from players in PTU with complete radio silence from CIG only for them to pop up in the store once the patch hit LIVE,” added another. “They wanted to cash in on the FOMO during Invictus, and have not changed course. This isn’t an act of goodwill, this is a non-apology and business-as-usual for CIG.”
Another said players “deserve what we tolerate”, stating: “These flight blades feel so gimicky, and having them locked to a single type of ship is just greedy design.
“If we accept this and CIG makes money off these blades, then we deserve more pay-to-win features. “Vote with your wallet, citizens! I’ve been following the project since 2.6 and I was happy with the development till they changed the ship prices to GTA5 online prices (and economy). That was a hard pill to swallow, but seeing these flight blades come out in this manner, it just paints a clear picture of things to come.”
Star Citizen has now raised over $800m, despite there still being no hint of a version 1.0 release date some 12 years after its original Kickstarter campaign.