Star Citizen funding hits $44 million milestone

Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen has just reached yet another funding milestone. The game’s widely successful crowdfunding campaign has now raised a staggering $44 million, up from $43 million in late April.

In a letter to the community, Roberts said that his team is hard at work on Arena Commander, a small, multiplayer-focused dogfighting mode that should launch on May 29. “Getting to dogfight in deep space is going to make Star Citizen real for a lot of people,” Roberts said. “But I also know that everyone who has supported us to this point already understands. Thank you for getting us here!”

To mark the occasion, Roberts shared a piece of concept art for what he calls the “negotiation room,” a place in one of the games’ ships where traders can meet with other players, display their cargo, and make deals.

All backers who contributed to Star Citizen before this point will get an additional “Stellar Cartography” room added to their hangers once the modular room system launches. This room will serve as a kind of map, featuring a 3D holographic representation of the game’s universe that will get more detailed as you explore it.

Roberts revealed that If Star Citizen hits $46 million in funding, backers will get an updated scanning software suite, which could provide them with information on where to find resources.

Star Citizen is due to launch in full sometime in 2015. A total of 453,429 people have backed the project so far.