Disappointed gamer demands his money back from $595M MMO Star Citizen after 8 years – And he gets it

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A player had bought the MMO Star Citizen (PC. $559m crowdfunding) 8 years ago, but now asked for his money back because the MMO hasn’t been released yet. The developers sent him a long letter why his claims are unfounded. But the money came.

This is the situation at Star Citizen:

  • Star Citizen started out as a project that was supposed to be released in 2014. Over the years, however, the budget, team and vision of the project grew so that even in 2023 it still has no release date.
  • Some players are tired of waiting and are frustrated asking for their money back. There’s even a Reddit for it, r/starcitizen_refunds, which is all about players claiming their money back and how best to go about it.
  • How such a “refund” process works can now be seen in an example.

    • Star Citizen Alpha 3.18 – Lasting Legacies

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    Who wanted their money back? A reddit user named “BlueBackground” shares his story on reddit:

  • He bought Star Citizen 8 years ago
  • He played 274 hours. However, he says that he spent a lot of time waiting. The game is “so tedious.”
  • He reclaimed about $250 – but notes that he had also bought ships and already sold them to cut his losses.

    • Player receives 5 page letter why he is not eligible for the refund

    What’s special? The player says, and also shows screenshots (via Reddit), that he received a 5-page letter that goes into great lengths explaining why he has no claims to the money back.

    Your claims are unfounded and we do not owe you a refund for the reasons we set out broadly below. However, and without any obligation to do so, we make you an offer that we refund you part of the transaction.

    Developers say: Star Citizen was released in Early Access in 2016

    The letter, which the user reproduces in part, lists:

  • Star Citizen has been in Early Access since 2016
  • Patches are coming quarterly
  • Actually, you give back the money for 14 days without questions, and have even extended it to 30 days
  • In the case of the player, however, he has 274 hours in the game – much more than the 40-60 hours that one normally spends on a game
  • In addition, he has also agreed to the terms and conditions a dozen times, which expressly state that he agrees to support the development of the game with the money he has promised

    • Despite all this, the money will be returned to him and the account will be closed – as a sign of goodwill.

    While the letter only mentions a “partial refund,” the player says he got the full money back.

    Player finds it “ridiculous” that it worked

    How the player reacts: The player is perplexed himself. He didn’t expect the money to come back.

    He makes fun of the fact that the developers said in the letter that the game was already released:

    Honestly, I’m shocked that I got the refund. I was sure I wouldn’t get it – or at least not like that.

    In the e-mail he had to laugh more often. He thanks the folks on the /refund-reddit for all the help.

    Elsewhere, he says he finds it “ridiculous” himself that he got the money back.

    How is this discussed? The people on the subreddit believe the refund now shows that Star Citizen appears to be rethinking and showing respect for the law.

    It has long been considered very difficult to get your money back from Star Citizen. Reddit believes the chances of a refund are higher if you refer to special regulations for Great Britain. The company is “afraid” of them.

    Backer wants $24,000 back from Star Citizen but has trouble getting it

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