After backlash over pay-to-win concerns, Star Citizen will make its new Flight Blades ship components available to all players in June 2025, reversing a Pledge Store-only launch.
Star Citizen Reverses Course on Flight Blades After Pay-to-Win Complaints
Star Citizen fans let their voices be heard—and Cloud Imperium Games is listening. Just a day after launching the new Flight Blades ship components exclusively through the Pledge Store, the studio has confirmed that all players will be able to access them in-game starting June 2025.
The controversy began on May 15, when Flight Blades dropped as a real-money-only item through the Pledge Store, with prices ranging from $15 to $35 depending on ship type. While the components themselves—a new upgrade that lets you trade speed for maneuverability, or vice versa—weren’t the issue, fans were frustrated that such gameplay-impacting gear was locked behind an additional paywall.
After a swift and vocal backlash about potential pay-to-win mechanics, Cloud Imperium walked it back. In a follow-up message to players, the devs admitted they “missed a step” by pushing the items out without in-game access, and confirmed that Flight Blades will hit the in-game store in next month’s patch.
This isn’t the first time Pledge Store purchases have included early access perks, but it seems the team is rethinking that approach—at least for gameplay-affecting items. Going forward, Cloud Imperium says smaller components like this will be released to everyone at the same time, a move aimed at keeping things fair for the broader player base.
It’s been a long road for Star Citizen. With its alpha now stretching over 12 years and more than $800 million raised via crowdfunding, maintaining community trust is key. Despite layoffs late last year, the dev team is ramping up hard in 2025, planning a whopping 11 updates instead of the usual four.
While the game’s full release still doesn’t have a date, this course correction might restore a little goodwill—and give fans more confidence that Star Citizen is still flying in the right direction.
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