Summary
Star Citizendeveloper Cloud Imperium Games reportedly laid off some of its employees last month. Apart from these layoffs, which were allegedly excused as “staff relocation” at first, theStar Citizendeveloper is being accused of providing a toxic workplace environment.
Star Citizenis a multiplayer space trading and combat simulation game that has been in development for over a decade. The title had a successful Kickstarter in 2012, and CIG has been releasing content for the unfinished game since then.Star Citizen’s budget is well over $500 millionby now, making it one of the most expensive games ever created. However, it seems that Cloud Imperium Games may be having a few problems lately.
In areport made by MassivelyOP(viaGame Developer), it was revealed that some employees were laid off from CIG last month, including names such as live game director Todd Papy, who worked for the company for almost a decade. According to these reports, “mass layoffs” occurred to an undisclosed number of employees, affecting design, production, and QA teams, despiteStar Citizenbreaking fundraising records last year. Another employee who was laid off, Annie Bouffard, claims that these layoffs were originally excused as staff relocation. Cloud Imperium Games announced the opening of a new office in Manchester, UK, in 2021, and recently started to move some employees to this location. However, it’s unclear whether the new Manchester office had a role in the layoffs or if this is just speculation by Bouffard.
Star Citizen Developer CIG Accused of Toxicity
Bouffard also accused the company of being a “highly toxic” environment. She claims to have been gaslighted when speaking out against the layoffs and complained that she was “mocked in a condescending way” during her annual evaluation. At the moment, CIG has not spoken out officially about either the layoffs or the toxic workplace allegations.
This news comes on the heels ofPlayStation’s massive layoffs, which happened earlier this week. The company laid off around 900 employees, affecting some of its most noteworthy studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, and Guerrilla Games, and shutting down its PlayStation London studio.
This year, over 6,000 people have been laid off from game studios. Last month, for instance,Unity cut its workforce by 25%, affecting around 1,800 people, and Microsoft announced the layoffs of 1,900 employees. Unfortunately, it does not seem like this trend is likely to stop soon, as new companies announce layoffs essentially every week.
Star Citizen
WHERE TO PLAY
Star Citizen gives you unlimited run of the Stanton system, a vast sandbox of life-size planets, moons, cities, space stations, asteroid belts, and more. With unmatched beauty, diversity, and danger in equal measure, you never know what’s waiting for you when you take flight.You can be whoever you want and explore the stars on your own terms. You can mine ore, haul cargo, salvage space wrecks, hunt bounties, become a mercenary, or even take up a life of crime. Fly and drive a vast variety of vehicles and play how you want to play - the possibilities are endless.How you deal with danger is up to you – stay safe in the regulated sectors of the system, arm up and tackle threats head-on, or turn to a perilous life of crime and get your cut of the action. Stanton’s booming black market offers opportunities to earn a crooked living if a hard day’s work isn’t for you.Star Citizen is currently in the “Alpha” stage of development, with each update adding new features, technology, and gameplay to grow and evolve with players.
