Key Takeaways
- Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games has reportedly laid off QA workers.
- This comes a month after the studio was said to have mandated a seven-day workweek.
- This also comes after Star Citizen’s crowdfunder surpassed $750 million earlier this week.
Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games has seemingly laid off employees, just weeks after it was reported to have crunched workers in the run-up to Citizencon.
As reported by Insider Gaming, this comes from a former employee, who claims that Cloud Imperium Games has let go of “a lot of staff” with “zero compensation”. Sources speaking with Insider Gaming confirm this and say that the layoffs have mostly affected the QA department.
Star Citizen Studio Reportedly Lays Off Staff Just After Citizencon
The employee who initially spoke about these layoffs has since made their account private. However, at the time, they wrote that workers were being laid off “with zero compensation” and right after Cloud Imperium Games had “[worked] them to the bone without even much as a thanks.”
That last point refers to reports that a seven-day workweek was imposed in the run-up to Citizencon. This was said to be in effect for 18 consecutive days, meaning that employees lost two weekends. A leaked email said that they could take these days off at a later date.
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This latest report comes just days after Star Citizen’s crowdfunder surpassed the $750 million mark. This means that it’s very possible that the game will reach a staggering $1 billion in crowdfunding before its launch, as it still doesn’t have a release date. The single-player spin-off, Squadron 42, won’t be with us until at least 2026.
Infamously, Star Citizen was originally projected to launch all the way back in 2014, after crowdfunding began in 2012. The fact that its development continues despite missing this initial launch window by over a decade now has made Star Citizen a source of intrigue in the gaming industry. It remains to be seen how much longer it will take Cloud Imperium Games to at least give us a release date for Star Citizen.
Star Citizen is a grand space game from Chris Roberts, creator of Wing Commander. known for having raised over half a billion dollars in crowdfunding. It is a mix of genres, from MMO to FPS and simulation.