Star Citizen Rockets Past $47 Million In Funding -- How High Can It Go?

Star Citizen, the PC space sim from Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, continues its ascent into the crowdfunding record books. The game, which is already the most successful crowdfunded project of any kind in history, has now reached $47 million in total funding, which is up from $46 million just two weeks ago. To put that figure into context, Double Fine spent about half that--$25 million--to make 2009 action game Brutal Legend.

"As always, thank you for your incredible support," Roberts said in a post on the game's website. "We're working hard to make Star Citizen a truly special game." Total funding currently stands at $47,058,621 from 486,748 total backers.

Now that funding has reached $47 million, backers have unlocked the latest player-voted perk, the Engine Tuning Kit. This virtual toolkit includes "everything the fledgling engineer needs to take a deeper look into the mechanics of their engine." This includes a Tap Analyzer that lets you view your engine's current output, as well as a 38-piece omnitool.

Looking ahead, Star Citizen will continue to receive player-voted reward items, but only barely. Developer Cloud Imperium Games held a vote to see if player-voted bonuses should continue, and 54 percent of backers said they wanted to see the system carry forward. "And we're going to honor that choice," Roberts said.

Should funding reach $49 million, Star Citizen backers will receive the Xi'An Space Plant, which is described as being similar to a bonsai tree. More than 250 people are currently working on Star Citizen, and Cloud Imperium Games recently hired someone to fill the role of Director of Persistent Universe.