‘Star Citizen 3.0’ ‘Stability Issues’ Force Dev To Move Release Date Again

The release date for “Star Citizen” alpha 3.0 has been pushed back. Get more details below.

Developer Cloud Imperium Games is still not ready to release the 3.0 alpha of “Star Citizen.” Hence, it has decided to move the release date of the update yet again. It was previously revealed that 3.0 could arrive near the end of August, but now the release window has been moved to the early days of September.

Announcement of Delay

Citing “stability issues” as the primary reason behind the delay, the developer took to the game’s Roberts Space Industries website to announce the sad news. “This week, we entered the optimization, polish and bug fixing phase for the 3.0 feature set. As there have been so many features and content implemented, we’ve encountered some stability issues that we want to address before going to a wider test audience.”

Following the announcement, many fans expressed their disappointment, and this has since prompted the game’s director of player relations, Will Leverett, to give a detailed explanation regarding the situation. “There’s been quite a bit of healthy discussion about our recent Production Schedule update, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts and comments,” Leverett wrote in a post on the site’s forums.

“As with estimates, they can change. When venturing off into uncharted territory, one does not always see or know all of the challenges ahead of them; they are often complete unknowns until they present themselves along the way,” Leverett added. “Working on 3.0 has certainly introduced variables and challenges that we could never have anticipated, and these just do not always cater to a tidy date on a calendar.”

Complexity of New Alpha

Leverett also pointed out in his post how alpha 3.0 is different from previous versions. According to him, the new update comes with a more complex level of tech and infrastructure compared to all of the previous updates. Such complexity has proven to be very challenging for the team. He noted that the current project has become more of a bug-fixing endeavor to them just so they could ensure its quality.

Leverett also defended his team’s effort to update fans of the massive multiplayer about the game’s schedule. “Ask any project manager and developer who worked on sophisticated software or has been involved on a complex project with lots of dependencies and moving parts, they’ll gladly share how challenging a task of estimates can be.”

“The entire company is working feverishly to get you 3.0. Our goal is to provide you with the most amazing gaming experience ever. We’ve learned that we can deliver something better than the original 3.0, something bigger, something pretty groundbreaking, something magnificent. That doesn’t always keep to a schedule, but we think it’s ok to take the time to do it right,” Leverett finally said.

Release Date

Per the estimated release window for “Star Citizen” alpha 3.0, the update could arrive between Sept. 4 and 8. Unfortunately, there is still no information on the official release date of the game. Project leader Chris Roberts simply said that they have this non-traditional approach into launching the game to the public. They will only declare a formal release once they have decided that the beta is “good enough,” Eurogamer has learned.

“Star Citizen” is scheduled to enter beta toward the end of this year. Then, according to the game’s website, players can expect the game to initially launch next year. “It may be reasonable to expect initial launch (which will not include every single feature listed in the RSI stretch goals page and countless other outlets, and will make about 60 of the 110 planned star systems available) by the end of 2018,” a statement on the “Star Citizen” website reads.