Re: Star Citizen: Half a Billion Dollars and Still Not Done

 Star Citizen, developed by Chris "I made Wing Commander!" Roberts -
was supposed to be the next big space-simulator game. It was going to
be Elite, and Wing Commander, and X-Wing, and Freelancer and Halo all
rolled up into a massive game with graphics so realistic they'd melt
your CPU if you turned the visual settings up to max. Development
started in 2010; a kickstarter campaign for the game was started in
2012, with a promised release date in 2014. It easily earned its $2
million ask, as dedicated space-sim fans rushed to help finance the
game.
 12 years later (14 years if you're counting when development started),
the game still hasn't released. It hasn't even exited alpha state.
There have been early-access releases, but they only include a tiny
amount of the promised content (a single solar system in what was
promised to be a galaxy-ranging game) and even basic mechanics haven't
been nailed down yet. A recent press release mentioned the possibility
of a 'version 1.0' but no fixed date - or even road-map - has been
offered. In fact, Cloud Imperium - Chris Robert's development company
- has infamously taken down existing developmental roadmaps.
 And yet, somehow, the company has burned through $669 million dollars
to get to this point. Where is the money going?