Star Citizen passes $200m, announces free flight week

Cloud Imperium Games has announced a free play week for its massively multiplayer space-'em-up Star Citizen, currently labouring in prolonged alpha which has seen it sail way past its original November 2014 launch date, starting this Friday.

Originally proposed as a single-player-focused spiritual successor to Wing Commander and Freelancer, Chris Roberts' Star Citizen has become a behemoth: The company formed specifically for its development, Cloud Imperium Games, has announced that the project has now raised more than $200 million in crowdfunding income, the vast majority of which came after the title's appearance on Kickstarter with a November 2014 launch date, thanks in no small part to the game's deep-pocketed fans who shell out for things like the $27,000 Legatus ship bundle which grants them most, but not all, of the ships that will appear in the finished game - assuming, of course, there ever is a finished game.

In an effort to attract new blood to the project, Cloud Imperium Games has announced a free-play week starting this Friday. During the week, each in-game manufacturer will offer its roster of ships for free flight - though, it must be noted, despite recent progress the game is very much still in alpha status. Those signing on for the week, whether new or existing members, are also expected to be able to land on and traverse the game's first explorable planet.

More details are available on the official website.