Cloud Imperium Games has reportedly undergone a leadership shake-up. The company is making various efforts to ship Star Citizen and Squadron 42 on time.
Image credit: Cloud Imperium Games
At least three Cloud Imperium Games executives have been recently laid off, sources familiar with the matter told Insider Gaming. It is unclear whose roles were terminated exactly, but these leaders had around 25 years of combined experience.
In its annual Letter from the Chairman, CIG founder and CEO Chris Roberts emphasized that the studio’s teams must focus on improving playability in 2025. This applies to both Star Citizen and its single-player campaign Squadron 42, which is now expected to launch in 2026.
“The team and I are determined to repay that faith, patience, and support by delivering two games unlike any other,” Roberts said, adding that “with a clear destination for both Squadron 42’s release, the Star Citizen 1.0 Roadmap, a focused team, and most importantly, the enthusiasm and support from the best community in gaming, we will deliver!”
According to Insider Gaming, the recent job cuts were made to meet deadlines and finally launch both projects (including version 1.0 of Star Citizen) with no further major delays. However, some staff members believe that the main goal behind this move is to cut costs, with rumors suggesting that Roberts’ wife Sandi Gardiner may return to the company “in a more prominent role.”
In November, CIG reportedly laid off an undisclosed number of employees, including those working in its QA department, in addition to around 100 job cuts made earlier this year.
At the time of writing, Star Citizen has raised over $770 million in crowdfunding from more than 5.4 million backers. In its annual message, Roberts announced that “over one million of you have played 32 million hours in the game this year, and our ranks have swelled by almost half a million Citizens.”