Entertainment
An Incomplete Sci-Fi Video Game Has Now Made Nearly A Billion Dollars
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Entertainment budgets today are astronomical, which is why, when Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts wanted to create his dream game, Star Citizen, he turned to crowdfunding. The gamble has paid off, as 13 years later, the total amount pledged for the development of his magnum opus has topped $933 million.
There is no way any studio would have ever agreed to spend over a decade and nearly a billion dollars on one game, which makes this a wild success story about believing in yourself. Making it even more impressive is that the game’s not even finished.
The Biggest Video Game Ever Made
Once completed Star Citizen will let players explore a massive sci-fi universe where they pilot their own massive capital ships, or smaller, more nimble explorers, to engage in trade, warfare, subterfuge, or anything else that their hearts desire. Every few years, a developer promises a grand sci-fi game of this caliber, and though No Man’s Sky is still around and kicking, nothing has ever been developed at this scale before. For sci-fi fans who have dreamed of piloting the Battlestar Galactica or spending time on a gigantic Babylon 5/Deep Space Nine-style space station, this has been the Holy Grail since the dawn of computing.
Star Citizen is playable right now (well, sort of, patch 4.5 introduced a lot of inventory-related bugs), and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It’s easy to spend hours in the Hanger mode exploring ships and debating if you should get a mortgage to afford the ship of your dreams. You can pay for ships with in-game currency or by using cold, hard cash. That helps explain why gamers have spent over $933 million in support of Roberts’ vision, no matter how long it takes.
A Billion Dollars And Still Not Done
Over the last 13 years of development, Star Citizen has gone through ups and downs. Players never know what the next patch will break, or when the latest promised feature is going to arrive. For example, Squadron 42, a single-player spin-off, was announced in 2014, and now, 12 years later, it’s finally completed. That’s still better than the promised science gameplay, which is nowhere to be found, along with base building, and alien races, among dozens and dozens of other features.
Star Citizen isn’t a complete game, which is why the studio got in trouble with the European Union for not making it clear in advertising that some of the ships are available in the Hangar mode, but are not yet playable in the persistent mode, or in some cases, they don’t exist. What is in the game right now looks amazing, and when everything comes together, it can be fun… for a few hours. As amazing as it looks, and as fun as it can be, you’d think $933 million would have resulted in a complete game after 13 years.
At its current pace, Star Citizen will clear $1 billion in funding in early 2027 and still be considered a disappointment. There’s been nothing this successful in the history of crowdfunding, but how much of that is profit and how much has been burned developing the greatest sci-fi game of all time (once it’s done… if it’s done) remains unknown. Sci-fi fans are used to disappointment, but we are finally getting a Stargate reboot, Star Wars is coming back to theaters, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is finally here, so maybe, just maybe, Chris Roberts grand vision will be here before we know it.
Entertainment
SNL opens with another Pete Hegseth press conference
Saturday Night Live returned from a brief hiatus Saturday with a cold open depicting a joint press conference between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, with “Master of None” creator Aziz Ansari playing the latter.
Colin Jost’s Hegseth hit the familiar beats at the podium — performative machismo, military bravado, and repeated jabs at the secretary’s well-documented drinking habits. This time, Hegseth arrived at the mic hauling an oversized pitcher of scotch, which he assured the room was his one for the day. He then fielded questions from the press about the administration’s handling of U.S. strikes on Iran, dismissing each reporter with the particular brand of smug confidence that has become central to Jost’s portrayal of the character.
Ansari’s Patel proved to be the sketch’s standout, arriving to defend his tenure at the FBI and proceeding to do so poorly. The bit’s centerpiece involved Patel simultaneously denying and admitting that he had locked himself out of his work email for 36 hours after forgetting he had changed his password to “kashmeoutside69.”
Funnily enough, Patel was reportedly locked out of his FBI email in real life and believed, at least momentarily, that he was being fired. As the sketch demonstrated, the distance between SNL’s Cold Open and the actual news cycle has rarely felt smaller.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 3, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Mashable Top Stories
Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: In Good Shape
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Green: Current NFL Head Coaches
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Blue: Famous Sports “Curses”
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Purple: Starts of Big Ten Names
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #586 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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In Good Shape: AGIL, ATHLETIC, FIT, STRONG
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Current NFL Head Coaches: COEN, GLENN, REID, RYANS
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Famous Sports “Curses”: BAMBINO, BILLY GOAT, MADDEN, SI COVER
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Starts of Big Ten Names: BOIL, BUCK, CORN, HAWK
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is $500 off right now at Amazon — save on this content creator favorite
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price of $1,599.
$1,099
at Amazon
$1,599
Save $500
What’s going to happen to the drone market in 2026? Due to legislative pressure on DJI imports in the U.S., there is so much uncertainty at the moment. We expected stock issues by now, but we’re actually seeing strong discounts on some of the best drones in the DJI range.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off and close to the record-low price.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a huge 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range more than delivers. The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, meaning it can dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you don’t have eyes on your drone.
This popular drone offers 42GB of internal storage, meaning you can actually capture a full session of 4K footage without needing an external card as backup. That can have a massive impact for content creators.
Mashable Deals
Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
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