The crowdfunding campaign for Star Citizen, the upcoming PC space sim from Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, continues to soar. The game has now crossed $49 million in total funding from over 500,000 backers, which is up from $48 million in the middle of July.

　　Now that funding has reached $49 million, Star Citizen backers will receive a virtual Xi'An Space Plant, which Roberts describes as being similar to a bonsai tree. To put Star Citizen's total funding into context, Double Fine spent $25 million to make 2008 action game Brutal Legend.

　　Star Citizen's original Kickstarter campaign, which was held in 2012, brought in $2.1 million, meaning the overwhelming percentage of support for the game has come since then through its official website.

　　More than 250 people are currently working on Star Citizen, and developer Cloud Imperium Games recently hired someone to fill the role of Director of Persistent Universe. After a slight delay, Star Citizen's new dogfighting module was made available to backers in early June.

　　For more on Star Citizen and Roberts himself, check out part one and part two of GameSpot's interview with the legendary designer.