The news that Star Citizen studio CIG forced developers to give up two weekends in order to make CitizenCon happen – followed by a suspiciously timed internal email that gave employees an extra day off – appears to have emboldened current and former developers at CIG to open up more about life in the studio: A new report on Insider Gaming with a dozen unnamed CIG sources confirms previous reporting over SC’s 12 years of development.
As one might expect, most of the problems at CIG come down to money: According to reporting, the past 12 months have installed in devs a pervasive sense that funding is drying up, a belief strengthened both by 2022’s reported spending and by layoffs that were classed by some as “a mass dismissal” because Chris Roberts demanded that workers move to the UK to be in the company’s massive new Manchester campus.
Developers further report that their wage increases have been frozen and that the cost of living in Manchester continues to rise, which has made some employees struggle to make ends meet, while the amenities at the new office are classed by some as a waste of backer funds; custom furniture, decor described by one source as “a space version of Willy Wonka’s factory,” and a coffee bar that takes up most of the space on the ninth floor are called out by employees.
Other issues raised by devs include the Frankenstein’s monster-like StarEngine, inappropriate and constantly changing deadlines, and Roberts’ penchant for micromanagement that made decisions that would otherwise take seconds instead stretch out for hours or days. One employee recalls a meeting taking 30 minutes longer because Roberts was fussing over “the placement of objects that players are likely never to interact with,” while another said that Roberts would review things “half a dozen times, for it then to be scrapped or changed on the 7th review.”
Finally, sources call the studio’s culture “cult-like,” with experienced staff reportedly being replaced with younger and cheaper labor, some of whom were reportedly brought in because they’re fans of the game. “It’s created an unhealthy place to work; you can’t push back on anything,” reads one current dev’s quote. “They are repeating mistakes that other companies made 20 years ago, which contributes to the shortcomings of their ambitious features,” another is quoted as saying.
The report closes with some information about Squadron 42 as well: According to insiders, Microsoft has seen a brief presentation about the game that confirmed it will feature 20 “chapters” – aka levels – and that CIG reportedly plans to release the game over the course of “several different episodes.” Timing for the game’s release hasn’t been confirmed here either, but devs report that the game has only just gotten to a feature complete state despite CIG’s announcement that it hit that mark last year. The episodic rollout of SQ42 is presumed to be a way to inject new cash into the studio alongside reported plans to release higher priced ships and the rumored third game.
