Yesterday, we reported on the rumors that Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games had laid off key members of the team, in part due to relocation efforts. A rep from the studio confirmed the reports, stating that it was part of "restructuring."
Redditors discovered the layoffs over the past few weeks, pointing to several high-profile developers who had mentioned being let go from the Star Citizen team, including its Game Director, a Senior QA analyst, and more. One of the major reasons listed was relocation, as specifically mentioned by a former Turbulent producer as a reason for the layoffs.
Today, a CIG rep responded to our request for comment, confirming the layoffs, and seemingly confirming that relocation was a factor in the process. However, the Star Citizen developer maintains that they are still recruiting for "key roles" for the company as they aim to move "development positions closer" to where the team resides.
"As part of our normal processes, we regularly look for ways to make our operations more efficient, which can include restructuring in order to place a position closer to the team it supports. Now that we are back in office and seeing the progress and quality of work when our teams are in-person working together, we have decided to co-locate as much development as possible, which has resulted in some minor staffing changes as we move some development positions closer to their core teams. As a result of this consolidation, a small number of positions were eliminated and we continue to recruit for key roles within the company."
While we don't know the extent of the layoffs themselves (we followed up asking how many positions were affected), the confirmation comes as the entire industry is feeling the weight of "consolidation" and "restructuring" efforts, which are resulting in record layoffs in the industry.
Just yesterday Sony announced the reduction of its global workforce by 8%, amounting to about 900 jobs, while Microsoft announced the elimination of 1900 jobs in January. These job losses are more to add onto what has already been a terrible year for the people who make the games we all enjoy.
Star Citizen does at least feel a little closer to its endgoal, especially after last year the company announced that its upcoming single-player campaign, Squadron 42, was "feature complete."
