After immense player backlash, Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games is pushing back its controversial new item that helps you enhance your ships. Flight blades are an upcoming upgrade you can buy for either real-world money or in-game currency, but Cloud Imperium briefly made them available ahead of time, and only purchasable with actual cash. The new flight blades are still on the way, but after vocal player distaste, the studio now says all “future gameplay kit introductions” will be obtainable in-game on day one.
Cloud Imperium just revealed the new Star Citizen item, flight blades. You can use these to increase your ship’s speed or maneuverability, and when they arrive in June, you can buy them either with actual cash or in-game currency. Before that, however, Cloud Imperium first made these upgrades exclusively available with real money, and they could set you back anywhere between $9.60 / £7.30 and $42 / £31.92. The backlash to flight blades has been so severe that Cloud Imperium has now delayed their inclusion in the space game altogether.
“Throughout Star Citizen’s evolution, one fundamental principle has remained paramount: everything you pledge to support our development will eventually be attainable through gameplay. Your contribution helps push things forward, but your time in the ‘verse should be equally rewarded,” Cloud Imperium writes.
“We’re pushing 11 patches this year instead of four. 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.
“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. If you want to support the project early, you can, but it’s not required. If you own a game package, you’ll be able to pick these up with in-game currency in our next monthly patch. And for future gameplay kit introductions, we’ll ensure these items are obtainable in-game on day one.
“Thanks to everyone who’s weighed in, especially those who brought the heat constructively. This game has always been shaped by the community. 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.”
Cloud Imperium’s above statement was posted on the Star Citizen forums, and met with a similar level of skepticism as the initial flight blades announcement. “This is a band-aid 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,” ‘SaltEMike’ writes.
‘Incubbus’ adds that the studio keeps “making bad decisions (for the ‘game’, not their short-term funding) for quite some time now.” Another player says, “I don’t trust their promises.”
Flight blades are currently scheduled to launch in Star Citizen in June, where you’ll be able to get them for real-world money and in-game currency. As of writing, Star Citizen has raised over $816 million towards its funding goal from over 5.6 million backers.
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