Star Citizen Alpha 2.0 Released, Marks "Major Milestone" in Game's Development

Star Citizen's Alpha 2.0 update has gone live for all players, developer Cloud Imperium Games has announced. In a statement, the developer said the release represents a "major development milestone" for the long-in-development PC space sim.

"Alpha 2.0 is a major breakthrough for Stars Citizen," Star Citizen creator Chris Roberts said in a statement. "It represents the first true slice of gameplay that includes much of what Star Citizen will bring to our fans: thrilling space combat in a massive play area, first person battles, and multi-crew ships where you and your friends can adventure together in a portion of the universe on the same ship. It's all technology that has never been undertaken to this scale and depth before in our industry."

Here's a breakdown of some of the key features available in Star Citizen now as part of Alpha 2.0, with descriptions courtesy of Cloud Imperium Games:

• EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) – drift out of your ship’s airlock and venture into the void of space and back
• 20+ random encounters – combat and exploration (lost wrecks and abandoned space stations)
• Quantum travel – travel in ships through the vastness of space at 0.2 the speed of light
• New flyable ships including the Constellation, the Retaliator, and the Vanguard.Large world tech – explore extremely large expanses of space seamlessly, without loading screens
• Locations to explore:
  • One planet (Crusader)
  • Three moons
  • Three distinct space stations
  • One repair/restock station
  • Nine comm arrays
• Wreckage to scavenge and never-ending battles in the Yela asteroid belt

The release of Star Citizen's Alpha 2.0 version comes as the game is closing in on another huge milestone. The game's crowdfunding campaign is really, really close to reaching $100 million since funding opened more than three years ago.

Star Citizen is already the most successful crowdfunded project of any kind in history.

"We are forever grateful for our backers and fans," Roberts said. "They been there from the beginning when we launched Star Citizen's funding campaign three years ago. And they've helped create the most passionate and loyal community in our industry. They are helping us every step along the way in creating the best damn space sim ever."

A release date for the final, complete version of Star Citizen has not been announced. In other recent news about the game, we recently learned more about the role Star Wars actor Mark Hamill plays in the title.