Chris Roberts ‘Star Citizen’ Nears Funding Goal

It’s taken an awkward website crash and a very quick Kickstarter back-up plan, but Chris Roberts return to gaming and more specifically, the space sim genre is now one step closer to making the grade.

Roberts, you may recall came to prominence some years ago with a little video game series called Wing Commander, which may or may not have featured Luke Skywalker at some point in its four game and spin-off career. That series has since been brought back to life thanks to a group of dedicated fans, but Roberts has moved on with his own new creation in the meantime.

Star Citizen itself is a persistent online multiplayer space romp, and by romp I mean plenty of space battles. Early details also mention a single player campaign called ‘Squadron 42′ in which you play out the career of a military officer, all set in the distant year of 2942 where a mass of alien intruders are awaiting on the border of the galactic empire (Death Star not included) desperate to defend itself.

The studio behind the game, Imperium Games Corporation (IGC), brings together a number of experienced techies, including former members of Digital Anvil and Origin. So expect plenty of references both in gameplay and visuals to Roberts‘ previous work, such as Freelancer and WC spin-off Privateer, along with plenty to set itself apart from the past.

Early funding on the official website was going rather well, until a few technical issues began to pop up which affected incoming funding from fans eager to get in on the action. In response, Roberts and the IGC crew started a separate Kickstarter campaign to ensure fans could continue to contribute while the website was undergoing required maintenance.

With 26 days left to go before the funding opportunity ends, fans have already amassed over half a million republic credits … dollars, I mean, dollars … which, when combined with the total on the now back online website, means that Star Citizen is very close to the $2 million target set way back when.

For more on Star Citizen, click through to the official website here where you can donate, check out a bunch of screenshots and videos. Along with getting the complete lowdown on Robert’s newest and soon to be funded creation. Welcome back Chris!