# Star Citizen

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/star-citizen/

6 people recommended Star Citizen in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 20 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 6 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended, mainly for years of delays, bugs and an unfinished beta state; those who recommend it cite its ambitious, immersive space vision and good performance on Linux and FPS.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Long delays, still in beta (4 comments in the sample): "they are forever in a beta state with no clear ship date in the future for their two games" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48820218)) "By the time they do a final release we'll have people playing it on the Moon and Mars." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48263140)) "was supposed to release 12 years ago. And they are still collecting money." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50150506))
- Costs rising with unclear funding (3 comments in the sample): "a game that’s at what? 40% of its projected goals/completion is now 33% more expensive than the most expensive game ever?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48262632)) "Will $250 million and 20 wizards squeeze out an MVP in 9 months" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48263355)) "Star Citizen has half a billion funding, and then WHAT?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631473))
- Scope creep and overbuilt features (3 comments in the sample): "I worked on Star Citizen and saw the lure of inflating project scope, responding to the vox populi, go to someone's head in realtime." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47024408)) "easier to just give people the real thing than do another refactor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48262863)) "are just bells and whistles that I close after 30 seconds of use" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50227694))
- Bugs and half-baked game loops (2 comments in the sample): "it's way too half baked with lots of game breaking bugs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629633)) "a few game loops held together by string and duct tape" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49639213))

## Why people recommend it

- Ambitious, immersive vision people want (3 comments in the sample): "the only game that seems to hit the mark of what im actually itching for is star citizen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635138)) "from what I hear, it offers a uniquely immersive experience" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48263761)) "It’s certainly unparalleled." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47287199))
- Runs well on Linux (2 comments in the sample): "Start citizen runs fine and gives excellent FPS NOW" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46579166)) "runs really well on Linux" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46460018))

## Other space simulation games people recommend

- [No Man's Sky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/no-man-s-sky/): 52 recommend, 41 mixed, 96 criticize
- [Kerbal Space Program](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kerbal-space-program/): 18 recommend, 6 mixed, 7 criticize
- [Starflight](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starflight/): 15 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Elite Dangerous](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elite-dangerous/): 10 recommend, 5 mixed, 5 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Star Citizen", https://hackerapproved.com/p/star-citizen/ (6 recommend, 5 mixed, 20 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.