It began as an idea that was formally announced over four years ago in February of 2012. Thanks to a tiered, Kickstarter-style fundraiser Starboard was able to evolve from just an idea to reality and within twenty-four hours of the pre-order opening in April of 2013 over 10,000 people threw their support behind the game and contributed over $230,000 to fund the game’s development. Since then Chuckfish Games has received over $1,000,000 in funds to create the game they came up with five years ago.
Developed by the independent game studio Chucklefish Games, Starbound is similar to Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky in that the game exists in a procedurally generated universe. The game is two-dimensional and allows the player to explore different planets scattered throughout the universe in order to obtain new weapons, armor, and many other miscellaneous items. Starbound has both side quests and story-driven quests that give players the freedom to choose to do whatever amuses them.
The space shuttle in the image above acts as the player’s interstellar ship and is used to travel across the galaxy. The ship contains a teleport pad that will teleport players to planets the shuttle is orbiting, a storage facility to store items, a fuel panel for refueling and a cockpit for piloting the ship. The ship’s interior is completely customizable and can be changed whenever a player decides to do so. Players will also be able to choose between seven different races, each with their own incredible story.
Chucklefish Games released a statement on Starbound‘s main website stating:
“After about 5 years, the game we set out to make finally exists, and to say that it all feels a bit surreal would be a massive understatement! While Starbound will be finished in two weeks, this isn’t the end. We will continue to update and support Starbound for as long as we can. We’ve got loads of cool ideas we couldn’t fit into 1.0 but hope to put into future updates. Thanks again for all your support over the years! You’ve stuck with us, and it means so much.”
Starbound will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and PlayStation Vita on July 22nd, 2016.
