Star Citizen reaches $25 million in crowdfunding

Kickstarter success Star Citizen experienced its biggest month in crowdfunding yet reaching $25 million in funding from backers after introducing its Enhanced Alpha stretch goal.

This additional funding will help the team build a wider alpha test than originally intended.

"The initial plan was to first launch servers in North America and then expand to areas such as Europe and Australia to decrease latency in these areas, perfecting the game as we improve the experience around the world. This funding will allow us to invest in a wider infrastructure for our early testing, spinning up remote servers earlier," wrote studio head Chris Roberts on the regularly updated Letter from the Chairman.

Hitting this goal will aso increase the number of alpha slots to allow more players to stress test the game.

The developers have now revealed the next stretch goal for the game, priced at $27 million. This will unlock Banu Merchantmen, space traders whose sturdy ships pass through their generations. The design team will also expand the Banu backstory, technology and offer a new way for users to experience their universe.

"Even though we've fully funded the base game, every extra dollar helps to make the experience better," adds Roberts. "The content we talk about in these stretch goals isn't 'feature creep'; it's elements we've been building and planning that will be all that more impressive with additional resources. In essence, you're putting things we've already discussed for the future into development now."