Squadron Le Epic Meme Number was the original kickstarter project and Store Citizen was supposed to be a bonus multiplayer/exploration mode tacked on as a stretch goal.
Even if the game miraculously launched and was amazing, the cringe space Roman humanity-fuck-yeah cryptofascist shit with characteristics makes the setting terrible for me.
Look at this shit. Look at what Chris Roberts did with himself in the game's official lore.
He did, and he made himself the Savior of Humanity and made his legacy corporation the heroic enabler of space fascism but also the "good one" for the inevitable consequences of fascism.
In early 27th century, during the Second Tevarin War, as the Messers became more and more ensconced in their position, RSI lost their military contracts to Aegis Dynamics, the manufacturer that created the weapons of war favored by Ivar Messer. Several of RSI's divisions still worked closely with the scientific bureaus and terraforming oversight committees in UPE, but as a whole, the company converted into a primarily commercial and civilian corporation.
In 2757, in response to the death of Anthony Tanaka, a twelve-year-old boy's refusal to work, RSI CEO Avel Gedima acknowledged the sad death and ordered a complete evaluation of all RSI facilities to make sure that they were adhering to all health and safety standards. A few months later, Ulysses Messer X released 'damning and incontrovertible evidence of corporate malfeasance' to the NewsOrgs, claiming that Gedima had embezzled imperial finances for personal use. The case languished in the courts for years, but the constant barrage of 'evidence' forced Gedima to step down.[2]