A disastrous livestream for the crowdfunded space sim Star Citizen has gone viral, offering an unflattering look at developer Cloud Imperium Games. The stream, which aired earlier this month, was meant to showcase the upcoming Siege Of Orison mission, but instead featured glitchy gameplay and visible tension among team members. As of May, Star Citizen's crowdfunding budget has exceeded $1 billion, making it potentially the most expensive video game ever made, even surpassing estimates for GTA 6.
Livestream Highlights Buggy Mission and Staff Discord
The stream was hosted to demonstrate 'the intended design' and 'how it's supposed to work,' according to content director Jared Huckaby. However, the gameplay on a private server was riddled with bugs, and the atmosphere among the team was notably hostile. YouTube comments singled out a team member named Elliot for an aggressive attitude toward content manager Oliver Hull, who joined the team in June. By the end, the team failed to complete the mission and had to wrap up due to time constraints.
In a particularly awkward moment, Huckaby told Hull, 'It's your show, wrap it up,' leaving Hull to make stilted closing remarks about the supposedly enjoyable experience. The stream has since been shared by prominent YouTubers like MoistCrTiKaL, breaking out of the Star Citizen community.
Fan Reactions and Studio Silence
Fan reactions have been scathing. One top comment read: 'Go easy on the dev team, it was probably the first time they've actually played the game.' Another said: 'Incredibly awkward, cringe, forced, slightly sinister feeling at times, and the local server gameplay was still terrible. No one was having fun here. Felt like a hostage video.' A third commented: ''Welcome I'm your host Jared' to 'Ollie this is your show. Wrap it up.' What comradery and unity. I want this content to be mandatory and on live. Make them try to play weekly until the game runs well. Bet they fix it faster.'
Cloud Imperium Games has not issued a statement addressing the stream's content, but it has announced its presence at Gamescom next week for a community event. Star Citizen, which entered early access in 2017, has faced criticism since a 2019 report alleging 'incompetence and mismanagement on a galactic scale.' Despite this, the game continues to sell microtransactions, with the most expensive spaceship priced over $1,000. The game is still without a full launch, and this livestream has only reinforced its negative reputation.
