Cloud Imperium Games, the studio behind in-development sci-fi titles Star Citizen and Squadron 42, has allegedly seen lay-offs in its upper management. According to a report by Insider Gaming, top-level executives in the studio have been let go, leading to a big shake-up in how the company is now being managed.
As part of this, executives who weren’t laid off have instead been assigned to different roles in the studio. The studio has also laid off employees from other departments, including QA. The new direction for the company was reportedly announced internally by studio boss Chris Roberts through an internal memo.
Roberts reportedly stated the desire to meet the release schedules for both games under development as a reason for the management changes.
“To achieve this laser focus [of meeting the release of SQ42 and Star Citizen 1.0], it is more important than ever to ensure we have high-performing and efficient teams working throughout the company,” said Roberts. “In order to achieve this, I have had to make changes to the structure of our teams from the very top of the company and downwards to ensure we have the right people in the right roles, working in person as much as possible from our most critical year yet.”
Changes to the Cloud Imperium Games website also indicate that one of the members of upper management, Chief Strategy Officer Carl Jones, was laid off from the company after having worked there for more than a decade.
Star Citizen has been in development for quite some time, being one of the most ambitious games out there. Since its announcement, the game has raised more than $750 million in funding through various methods of crowdfunding. The 1.0 release for the game is reportedly coming soon, but Cloud Imperium Games has yet to announce an official release date.
Squadron 42 is a single-player action title where players control ships in smaller-scale battles. The game is set to be a companion to Star Citizen, and will also feature actor Mark Hamill as one of its characters. The game is slated to be released in 2026.