What is the exciting [corporate] news, Chris?
TL;DRThe company took an investment intended to secure independence and fund marketing and other business needs, so crowdfunding money can keep going to development rather than a publisher deal.
Well, we sent out a letter to all you guys and it's on our corporate website, but we've taken on an investment that I think is going to really secure our independence. I think you guys have known, I've said from the beginning of the campaign, that all the money that we've been bringing in on crowdfunding is going towards Star Citizen, is going towards Squadron 42, is going towards development. And we've been upholding that side of the bargain, and that is something I feel really strongly about. But of course, as an ongoing business, we have some other needs, like, for instance...
Marketing.
Yeah. Well, Squadron 42, we're now on the downhill ramp. We're 18 months away, looking like, from when we have to be ready to release it. And as you tell me all the time, you have to start doing a lot, start the preparation and planning and booking and all the rest of the stuff for the marketing long before.
Yes, I have actually had this plan for a very long time and it has shifted and shifted and shifted. And finally, I feel like we might have an actual plan that I can execute.
The other aspect is being able to do that properly, being able to fund it without having to go to someone. There's a lot of other people in the crowdfunding world anyway that have raised their money, made the game, and then partnered with someone like a publisher to release the game in a wider format, but we don't want to do that. I value the independence. We've been able to have the independence because of all you guys. We really appreciate it. And so for us, it was really important to be able to control our own destiny. And this is really going to enable us to do that and also have all the money that comes in on the game front, the crowdfunding, go to the development. I never wanted to take any of that money and spend it on ads that we would buy in places. So this for me is the best of both worlds. It gets great independence. We have security, more chests. We can do various things as well as build the best damn space sim out there. So there you go. Happy about it.