A storm has arrived to Star Citizen in both a figurative and a literal sense as the spaceship sandbox has released its latest alpha build, aka Storm Breaker, which brings a new persistent activity for players to take on, some new vehicles to command, and a host of overall changes.

The marquee feature that gives the update its name is all about raiding mad science labs, with players being challenged to locate, break in to, and grab goodies from a pair of shifty research labs located on Pyro IV and Pyro I. The activity is presented as PvE-heavy, but considering these are in the FFA PvP system of Pyro, many players are bracing for human resistance on top of everything else.

In addition to the new POIs, the update launches the Esperia Prowler cargo ship and adds three new variants of the ATLS and GEO power suits, two of which are gained from Wikelo’s and the third found within one of the science facilities.

The majority of the updates otherwise in the patch include the chance for rain storms to appear, the addition of radiation exposure as a hazard, a new weapon and item as well as some weapon balance tweaks, and several vehicle adjustments that, among other things, adjust how shield regen is distributed, bring back flight turbulence, improve torpedo tracking, and apply some targeted changes to a host of internet spaceships. The patch notes link above breaks it all down.

source: official site (1, 2) Longtime MMORPG gamers will know that Star Citizen was originally Kickstarted for over $2M back in 2012 with a planned launch for 2014. As of 2025, it still lingers in an incomplete but playable alpha, having raised over $800M from gamers over years of continuing crowdfunding and sales of in-game ships and other assets. It is currently the highest-crowdfunded video game ever and has endured both indefatigable loyalty from advocates and immense skepticism from critics. A co-developed single-player title, Squadron 42, has also been repeatedly delayed.