There's still no sign of Star Citizen 1.0, but it did just get a revamped referral program so the die-hards can tempt in even more saps

2025 began with Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) CEO Chris Roberts declaring that "we are closer than ever to realizing a dream many have said is impossible" with Star Citizen. As in releasing the thing.

Roberts didn't bother with a timetable though: after all, 13 years since the game's first crowdfunding goals were set, CIG is sitting on the kind of hoard that would make Jabba the Hutt envious. Well over $800 million and counting.

Star Citizen is known as a crowdfunded project, though CIG has proven adept at working out ways for players to pay them more money, whether that's paid access to the alpha, subscriptions, merch, or expensive spaceships. And the latest feature announced for the game is… a revamped referral program that aims to help the die-hards be better recruiters.

Star Citizen has always had the faint whiff of dodginess to it, but referral programs like this will have many thinking about how pyramid schemes exploit social connections to attract new suckers. Launching July 2, it offers "a completely new and improved referral experience" with progression tracking, milestones, various rewards along the way, and a variety of leaderboards for the game's most committed to compare how many poor fools they've managed to inveigle on-board.

One part of the FAQ that had my eyebrows raised was a quasi-marketing reference to potential players as "prospects," which CIG says are "people who used my referral code but haven’t bought a package yet." Those fiscally sane fools! Don't worry because, surprise surprise, "all Prospects will carry over." Of course they will.

A ship flies to the horizon in Star Citizen.

CIG seems to think it's offering something in return with "more frequent, more meaningful unlocks" which include various cosmetics and a chance for some referral champions to score expensive ships. This is perhaps the most Star Citizen part of all: the MISC Raptor is the biggest prize, but "while it’s been added to the reward track, it’s still in development and will be delivered at a later date."

Well if you believe that, you probably believe in Star Citizen 1.0. Roberts has previously said CIG was heading "for Star Citizen's own finish line… Star Citizen 1.0 is what we consider the features and content set to represent 'commercial' release."

But well over a year after those comments, Star Citizen remains in alpha and early access. "I can promise you the gameplay I described is not a pipe dream," said Roberts, "nor will it take 10 to 20 years to deliver." So hey: tell your friends about me.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

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