It’s been over a decade since the initial reveal of Star Citizen, a notably ambitious and vastly overfunded space MMO from Cloud Imperium Games and designer Chris Roberts. Initially, doubts lingered about the game’s viability, but with the current alpha version 4.0, those concerns have largely abated as development continues.

With the new year, Chris Roberts has shared a fresh “Letter from the Chairman” to the loyal followers of Star Citizen. He highlights several ongoing issues regarding performance and stability, revealing the game’s 2025 aim: playability. Roberts admits that smooth gameplay without significant bugs is crucial for delivering an exceptional user experience:

“The sentiment many of you have shared—and one we wholeheartedly agree with—is that if the current game, as it stands today, ran smoothly with fewer obstacles and bugs, it would provide an unparalleled experience.”

Roberts discusses various attempts to enhance the game’s stability while introducing new features and technologies. He acknowledges the prior challenges where significant technological advancements led to unforeseen difficulties:

“Star Citizen and Squadron 42 are two games that would never have been greenlit by any of the big publishers. They are both too ambitious and in a genre that up until recently was viewed as niche.”

With the newly implemented server meshing technology, the game can now create a seamless experience across servers, improving performance and allowing for a higher player count per server.

Despite promising developments, the full release of Star Citizen 1.0 remains elusive. While advancements in gameplay and stability are underway, the release is still labeled as “Alpha” or “Early Access”. Yet, hope remains that a complete version will eventually surface.