In 2015, I came across some enticing ads for Star Citizen on YouTube. The trailers showed massive ships cruising through space, vibrant planets, and a plethora of activities that players could engage in including fighting a space Worm. I was intrigued and decided to check out the game's website.
Like many others, I started off with a basic game package, £30 for an Aurora. When I joined the game, I quickly realized that there were a lot of bugs. However, other players in chat reassured me that the game was in early access and that these issues would be fixed eventually. They told me that all I needed to do was wait a year or two for everything to be ironed out, which I believed.
As time went on, I began to wonder if upgrading my ship would help me experience the game more fully. After all, it made sense to assume that if I had a better ship, I wouldn't encounter as many bugs. I had gotten tired of boxes falling through the floor of my Aurora and not being able to get in and out of it all the time.....So, I dug into my wallet again and purchased a £90 Cutlass ship, just to avoid some bugs.
Although the game was still buggy, I was encouraged by other players in the chat to keep believing that things would get better. I watched more trailers, followed YouTubers and Twitch streamers, and became even more invested in the game. I was excited about the development plans that were announced at CitizenCon, especially the upcoming Squadron 54 release, and was convinced that everything was going to take off soon within the coming year of 2016.
Everything was being presented to me as thought it was just around the corner and almost finished. I decided to double down and increase my spending on more ships because I felt that by spending more money I was supporting the game to release faster AND confirming my bias that I was right about everything.
This went on for many years and even tho I saw some warning signs I ignored them and kept in the communities of Discord, Reddit, YouTube and Twitch. All the while being encouraged by other members that everything was fine and to keep spending more and more of my money.
Fast forward to 2020, and I began to grow increasingly concerned about the game's progress. I wondered why it was taking so long for the game to be fully developed, especially given the promises that had been made by the community and CIG themselves. Then, in an interview with Chris Roberts, he revealed that development was actually slowing down because the game was now so good that making any updates was a significant undertaking to change anything inside of the engine because of such "complexity" This was a major red flag for me and I started to get very upset about the amount of money I had put into it at this point which had grown exponentially. I was mainly upset because I had been told time and time again by my so called "friends" that the game development would increase any day now. and to keep spending more and more money.
Around 2021 I had enough of the carrot on a stick games, they continued to lead everyone on for years and years using this same tactic so I decided to open a support ticket asking what kind of refunds I would be able to get. I was told that I would be put in contact with a "Refunds specialist" and to stand-by and wait for their instructions. Some months went by and still I was getting nowhere with them. I told them flat out that if I'm not getting a refund via chat I will be contacting a solicitor here and beginning legal proceedings against them according to the consumer rights laws.
What ended up happening next was a compromise, I was transferred to a new support agent that I had not spoken to before and they did agree to refund some of my original pledges back, but I was told that the referral rewards (That I had upgraded) would not be refundable. Also my subscription to Centurion that I had for many years would also not be refunded to me. Along with some other cosmetics items and various other things. I still had a considerable amount of money invested into CCU's at this point that I was not getting a refund for so I need another way to get out of this game.
Within the past week I had just a horrible feeling, and even literal nightmares about the money I've spent on this game. It really has caused so much anxiety and grief in my life. I can say truthfully that I wish I had never spent a single quid on it. I feel like I was married to the worst person on this planet and just got through a very messy divorce with them. I have never had any video game make me feel this upset and I'm 52 years old so that is quite a lot of games I've played throughout the years, including Wing Commander all the way up to this....
The last stage of my plan was to sell my entire account and get out of this game entirely. I could never be free unless my account was gone. I ended up getting that done this past week. I sold the account and ended up taking a £200 gain from that sale. I sold many ships that were referral reward CCU account bound and I am finally done. I'm out of this game forever lads.
I don't know what else to say at this point except I feel that a large weight was lifted off of my chest and I genuinely feel sorry for anyone who is still stuck in this loop, the carrot and stick loop. My message to you is PLEASE realize you are being taken for a mark, these people are aware of what they're doing and they are knowingly taking money for a product they can never feasibly finish.
My closing statement is to please consider getting out of this mess, do not give them a single pound more. Do not support this company. Realize that you're probably going through the exact same stages as myself, and you will come to the same conclusion. Wake up to the tricks now and plan your exit strategy to get away from this before its too late and the house of cards comes down.
