Star Citizen At One Million Citizens, CIG Drops Alpha Access Paywalls

Update (October 17, 2015): This article has been corrected to reflect the fact that there are one million *citizens*, not actual financial backers of the game. To be a citizen, you only need to sign up on the forum. It is possible to create multiple accounts and you do not have to back the game financially to register as a citizen. 

Corrected article (October 15, 2015) follows: 

Cloud Imperium Games has proudly revealed that they have hit their one millionth citizen.

Citizen number one million, Edenstar, says he joined in after being referred by a friend. Edenstar bit the bullet because he was worried he wouldn’t see his friends otherwise.

To commemorate this milestone, CIG announced a monumental change all backers will welcome. They are finally dropping paywalls for $5 modules and alpha access. Everyone who paid for a Star Citizen package is guaranteed access to new areas in the future, no more strings attached. Since it’s still alpha, any changes will be going through test servers first of course, but paywalls are finally done.

Furthermore, they are awarding their earliest supporters even further. Everyone who has an alpha access package gets 10,000 credits in-game, and everyone with an Arena Commander pass gets 5,000 credits. They are also raisin the cap to make this possible.

You can read the full statement here, but we’ll quote Chris Roberts’ message of gratitude to fans below verbatim.

…You (sic) have my most sincere thanks: you were our vanguard, the battalion that fought the good fight from the beginning. Your impact on Star Citizen will never be forgotten, for without your early faith we couldn’t be where we are today. (Please note that this credit payout is going to take a big script, so it may take Turbulent a few days to work out the logistics!)

It goes without saying that I’m proud of the incredible community that has come together to support Star Citizen to this point, and I’m so excited to watch and take part as you grow, evolve and change as we approach the finish line. Whether you were an Early Backer, a Veteran Backer, someone who joined yesterday or even one of the ‘Magnificent Seven’… we are all Star Citizens today, equal and with the same thing owed to us: the Best Damn Space Simulator Ever.

Knowing that one million people (and growing!) are counting on us will only further fuel our desire to deliver. Every member of the Star Citizen team already knows that we work for the backers… and reaching one million is just another reminder why we are giving this project all of ourselves. Right now that’s getting Star Citizen Alpha 2.0 in shape to share with all of you in the near future, and we’re in the process of closing down Star Marine as well.

Until then, the team and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts in making this possible. Star Citizen lives by the support it receives from the community, and that support has been loud and clear over these past three years. As I look around at artists, designers and engineers prepping Constellations and Retaliators for their multi-crew launch, I can say with certainty: I will see you very soon… in the ‘Verse!