Starbound pre-orders open, approaching $500,000 stretch goal

Chucklefish has opened pre-orders for Starbound, amassing an impressive 18,875 orders for a total of $470,313 at time of writing.

The pre-order campaign is going so well the developer has listed stretch goals, with the next one adding an entire new race to the sci-fi sandbox. Hopefully, the success will enable Chucklefish to achieve its goal of getting all its staff on board full-time, instead of working multiple jobs while self-financing.

Starbound is described by our very own DSB as "an ultra-cute Terraria, in space". It combines sci-fi narrative with sandbox gameplay, giving players quests and freeform exploration options while they restore and upgrade their space station - all with the option of co-op play.

There are loads of planets to visit on your adventures, and Chucklefish promises that each one will be unique. Find one you like, and you can claim it as your, forever; you can also record your discoveries and share them online so other players can check out your findings.

If you're interested in where the team plan to take the game, check out the developer's roadmap, again described by DSB as "just about the cutest thing you ever saw". Bless. There are plenty of screens and video demos available, too.

The indie effort is expected later this year via Steam, on Linux, Mac and PC. Pre-orders net beta access among other goodies, depending on how much you want to cough up.