Chris Roberts gave a BAFTA Masterclass presentation last night, talking with an audience of film and games professionals about the crowdfunding success of Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium's upcoming space combat game. The talk is recapped in detail on Polygon, where they quote him envisioning the game's fundraising topping out at about $100 million, almost 50% more than its current total, which stands at just under $70 million. But he also actually says this is not about the money. "We're now close to $70 million, and it's likely the carry-on will probably be over $100 by the time the game is close to public release. But the crowdfunding isn't really about the money," Roberts explains. "Yes, the money is nice. Yes the money enables you to do some of these things you do, but it's really about bringing people in to create this community and have them sort of share that experience with you as you're building it." The talk also included an outline of release plans going forward, here are the bullet points from a presentation slide, and a bit more of Polygon's write-up of the proceedings:

THE LAST STAGE: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

• Spring 2015
  • Beta Release of FPS
  • Planetside/Social beta
• Summer 2015
  • Arena Commander 2.0 MultiCrew ships
• Fall 2015
  • First episode of Squadron 42 released
• End of 2015
  • Persistent Universe Alpha for Backers
• 2016
  • Star Citizen commercial launch

The beta for the Star Citizen FPS will release in Spring 2015, along with the beta of the "planetside" product. Then, that same summer, the Arena Commander product will be upgraded to a 2.0 version, complete with ships that allow for multiplayer crews. Then, in the fall, the first episode of Squadron 42 will be released. By the end of 2015 backers can expect to play the alpha of the persistent universe, leading up to an eventual 2016 commercial launch of the game.