Nobody talks about an unpleasant reason

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The SF MMORPG Star Citizen has now raised $640 million, most of it through the sale of virtual ships. MeinMMO author Schuhmann has noticed an aspect that is little talked about: Some seem to view the ships as investments and objects of speculation. A gray market is booming on eBay and through special sites in Metz: ships that were given away in 2017 are now being auctioned for €1,600.

This is what stands out about Star Citizen: Anyone who follows Star Citizen discussions online will notice two things:

  • There are people who will defend the game to the death in the comment sections of general gaming sites and will not allow any criticism of the game. Often these are people who only comment on Star Citizen
  • The sums that some people pay for virtual ships are just too absurdly high. There is a separate category of players in Star Citizen, the “Legatus Navium,” which only includes those who have spent more than $25,000. These are so-called “whales”

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    What is the official reason for this? The official positive reading is something like: Star Citizen fulfills a lifelong dream for many people. It’s a fantastic sounding project. There is nothing like it and anyone who spends that much believes strongly in Chris Roberts and his vision.

    That’s right, there are people like that. We reported on MeinMMO about a photographer who invested $31,000 in Star Citizen after he almost died.

    But I noticed another aspect that is not covered in the discussion. Admittedly, this may sound a bit like a conspiracy theory at first, but hear me out.

    Chris Roberts (right) is a visionary for his fans.

    “Protect the investment”

    What kind of hidden aspect is this? During my work as an MMORPG author for MeinMMO, I noticed back in 2014 that some MMORPG players have an incentive to defend an MMORPG other than mere enthusiasm.

    In 2014 there was unusually sharp criticism and contradiction when we reported negatively on MeinMMO about the free2play MMORPG ArcheAge, even though the game was clearly “Pay2Win”. In a German forum about the game I saw players who played ArcheAge completely differently than I have ever experienced in 15 years of MMORPG experience:

  • These players saw ArcheAge not as an MMORPG, but as an “investment”
  • They played ArcheAge with the clear intention of making real money there by building up a position of power early on, through which they could generate gold in the game and then sell it
  • Therefore, it was normal for them to defend this “investment” by contradicting any criticism of ArcheAge in forums

    • Because the “investment” in an MMORPG is only worthwhile if the game attracts new players and they can thus find new buyers.

    The market for virtual ships on Ebay has been flourishing for years.

    The market for virtual ships on Ebay is booming

    What does this have to do with Star Citizen? In Star Citizen there is a lively gray market with virtual ships on Ebay:

  • CIG always sells or distributes some special ships
  • Months or years later they can often be found on Ebay at sometimes absurdly high prices with the note “This ship no longer exists”
  • There is even a site online called “The Impound” that specializes in trading “Star Citizen” ships

    • The “Saber Riven” was presented in Frankfurt in 2017, you received it via a promo code and you cannot purchase it today. Two codes are offered here for €1,600 each:

    This is my theory: I believe that some of the users on the Internet – certainly not all, but some – who vigorously defend Star Citizen are speculators protecting “their investment”: they bought ships in Star Citizen for a lot of money with the intention of making them expensive resell if the game is successful.

    The active gray market for ships in Star Citizen will certainly also fuel the game’s enormously high revenue.

    It is not possible to determine what share speculators make up of the $640 million. Of course, among the people who consolidate ships or accounts on eBay, there may also be one or two collectors for whom the wait for Star Citizen is now too long and who is trying to get some of their investment back now.

    But some offers, especially when several ships of the same type are offered for immediate purchase, clearly look to me like speculators who want to sell for a profit.

    It is noticeable that trading in virtual ships in Star Citizen has reached unusual levels and has been going on for years.

    There are games in which you can earn real money virtually, but they are rarely discussed openly:

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