“Star Citizen,” currently being developed by Cloud Imperium Games, is an ambitious next generation space game that incorporates elements of different genres such as role-playing, first-person shooting and massively multiplayer online games into a seamless universe.

It has now been in development for six years.

A few weeks ago, the best thing possible for “Star Citizen” occurred. The game received a massive update: 3.3.3, which added a bunch of optimizations, bug fixes and a few new missions to the wider universe. This update alone has drastically increased the playability of the game for many players.

Then, just before the extended Thanksgiving weekend, Cloud Imperium Games released two new updates. Update 3.3.5 added the first planetary body that players in the universe could land on (aside from moons). Called Hurston, the planet came with a whole bunch of different locations across the surface and a new spaceport called Lorville.

Update 3.3.6 was a smaller patch that fixed a few of the problems that presented themselves after the release of 3.3.5. This group of updates all occurred within days of each other and seemed to be preparing for the anniversary of the game’s development.

Unlike other companies who spit out new games nearly every month, Cloud Imperium Games has been putting a lot of love and attention into “Star Citizen.” Even though the game is still in its alpha stage of development, if it were released today, it could rival a finished project from a AAA developer such as Electronic Arts or Ubisoft. Good thing it is not close to being finished yet.

With all the progress being made recently, the constant updates from the actual developers and artists of the game and the fact that the game itself is more of an experience than an actual game are all reasons to be happy for the sixth anniversary.

Along with the anniversary comes the Star Citizen Anniversary Sale. Many ships and ship packages are on sale on Star Citizen’s website, Robert Space Industries. For $45 you can start flying in one of the Aurora class or Mustang class fighters and join the universe (or you can get one of the larger ships as well).

In addition to cheaper ships, players have been able to fly ships from the in-game ship building companies for free for 24 hours each day during the anniversary celebration and can continue to do so until Friday, Nov. 30. This has allowed players to test the ships they may be interested in purchasing.

While all the above is amazing, there are few things that should be known before buying a package to help support “Star Citizen.”

First, “Star Citizen”, as I mentioned before, is still in alpha, and it is not close to being finished. It will hopefully become everything a space-game-nut would want, but it is not at this moment in time. Second, there is no guarantee Cloud Imperium Games will ever be able to finish developing the actual game, so players may very well have bought a very cool digital box. That is the risk of investing in something like this. Finally, ships are closer to being purchased with in-game currency, so you do not have to purchase anything larger than the basic fighters to start the adventure. The option to do so will be around until further notice (not extending past the game’s release).

Six years is a long time to wait for anything, especially when time and money are being invested. “Star Citizen” has come a long way since its humble beginnings and will hopefully continue to get better by the time the game is officially released.

“We’re breaking both real and virtual barriers and boldly going where no gamer and game has gone before. And we couldn’t be doing it without all of you, our partners in this journey and the best community in gaming!” Chris Roberts, founder of Cloud Imperium Games, said in a letter addressing the “Star Citizen” community.

The anniversary sale continues into December, and players can fly ships for free until Nov. 30. “Star Citizen” is continuing to make strides in its development cycle and this last month is an example of the capability and experience the staff at Cloud Imperium Games possess.