Star Citizen had its biggest year ever in 2020, helping propel the ambitious PC space sim to a new crowdfunding high of more than $350 million. The game's public funding page shows that the new game from Wing Commander's Chris Roberts has now brought in more than $351 million.
Polygon estimates that Star Citizen added about $77 million in new crowdfunding revenue in 2020, making it the game's biggest year on record.
Star Citizen makes money from selling numerous different "pledge packs" that include things like ships, other in-game items, and insurance. In addition to funds that come from these efforts, developer Cloud Imperium takes investments from outside parties who want a piece of the action. In 2020, Cloud Imperium raised $17.25 million from a group of investors. Before that, billionaire Clive Calder and his son Keith invested $46 million into Star Citizen.
In addition to Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium is developing a single-player story game called Squadron 42 which features a long list of top talent such as Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis, Gillian Anderson, and many more.
Star Citizen and Squadron 42 have been playable for years already in various alphas, and development remains ongoing to help spruce up the experience and build out the worlds.