A backer of the infamously expansive space shooter Star Citizen has argued for, and won, a sizeable refund on his $2550 pledge to the game on the grounds that “the product remains unfulfilled and no longer constitutes the product(s) I originally purchased.”




The correspondence—originally shared on the Something Awful forums—shows a lengthy conversation over email that involves the backer (Streetroller), Star Citizen developers Cloud Imperium and the California Attorney General’s office.

It’s a long read, but in essence Streetroller is arguing that since Star Citizen has changed so much in scope since its initial reveal (adding a number of features and modes, like a first-person shooter), and since it’s still not out years after its first crowdfunding campaign, he’s entitled to a refund of the massive $2550 pledge he made to the game.


The emails cover a lot of ground—concerns over changes to the game’s terms of service, Cloud Imperium arguing that pledges are for the development of the game, not a pre-order on a copy—but they end with Streetroller saying he got his money back over the course of a couple of payments.

He also claims to have been contacted by “an LA County investigator” asking for information on the game, who was told by Streetroller that he felt the game was a “scam”.

A representative for Cloud Imperium tells Kotaku that “Any refunds with respect to Star Citizen are made on a discretionary basis. There was nothing special about this situation. The fact that this particular party used a complaint form that is online and openly available, doesn’t make this any different.”