Just recently, Star Citizen broke a new record in crowdfunding. Fans have invested over 600 million dollars into the game so far. However, a supposed former developer, who claims to have worked at the studio for 7 years, has now spoken out. He praises the game and his colleagues, but criticizes the management’s handling of money.
What exactly does the developer say? The Reddit user Ryden-55 claims he initially financially supported Star Citizen and was later hired as a developer. After 7 years, he allegedly was laid off this year – despite the fact that the sci-fi MMORPG earned over 60 million dollars in the past 6 months alone.
For comparison:
- Guild Wars 2 generated 71 million dollars in revenue in 2022 – in a year with an expansion and Steam release.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic made a total revenue of 1 billion dollars over 10 years, averaging 100 million per year. However, most of that was likely earned in the early years.
- Star Citizen can thus keep up well with already established titles purely from its earnings.
The developer also has an explanation of where all the money is flowing, namely into the new headquarters in Manchester:
In my opinion, the company has invested too much in the newly built office in Manchester. They are more concerned about wall decoration than about investing in additional staff.
This also roughly matches this statement: YouTuber shows, the 600-million-$-MMORPG Star Citizen has been promising for 10 years: “Development will be much faster soon”. But it feels like nothing is speeding up.
Developers are being laid off, even though they should prioritize saving on office furnishings
What else does the former developer say? In his thread, he emphasizes multiple times that the developers at CIG are very talented and have some revolutionary ideas. He remains a fan of Star Citizen. However, the wasteful handling of money bothers him.
It’s fantastic to enter [the headquarters]. But once I learned that I was laid off, I saw everything in a different light. Some of the artwork matched my salary or even that of several people.
If you look at the costs for office furniture (furniture, not hardware), you could pay someone with two furnishings. TWO. There are a large number of offices, and when I heard that a hiring freeze was imposed and then layoffs occurred, I felt compelled to speak out.
However, the problems do not only lie in the waste of money, but also in the way money is earned.
The developer is critical of the price increases for ships this year. The Cutlass Black, for instance, previously cost 100 dollars and has been raised to 110 dollars. He advised against this to the responsible parties, but they ignored it: “People will surely buy it; it’s a Cutlass.”
What does he say about the future of the game? He sees it rather critically. The studio must constantly generate new money; otherwise, they won’t be able to stay afloat for long. Generally, he is astonished at how easily people are motivated to spend money, especially when there are discount promotions.
He personally will no longer support Star Citizen for the time being, also because many promises have not been kept:
I will not spend a cent until the game is fully delivered. I have become a concierge supporter over a period of 5 years [which requires spending at least 1,000 euros], but I do not want to play the game in its current form, which pains me because I want it to succeed.
However, I will not repeatedly test a product that should have been released by this point.
At the end of his post, he emphasizes again that he wishes the game and his former colleagues all the best, but hopes that players will “vote with their wallets” more strongly in the future. He also hopes that his post does not incite hatred towards CIG and the employees, but he just wanted to share his perspective on the development of the game.
Star Citizen officially released in 2016 in Early Access, but important features are missing
How has the development gone so far? Star Citizen received 2.1 million dollars through Kickstarter in 2013 and promised a release in 2014. However, over the years, the budget, team, and vision for the project grew. To this day, there is no release date.
However, since 2016, there has been a playable version referred to as “Early Access”. There is a major patch quarterly.
But players have been waiting in vain for years for important contents, such as the solo campaign Squadron 42. So far, it still feels unfinished in many places. A release seems unrealistic in the coming years.
What do you think about Star Citizen and the current development progress? Can you still wait a few years, or are you also disappointed that there is still no finished version?
Those who are really frustrated with the MMO can try to reclaim their money. This has worked here: Player demands his money back from the 595-million-$-MMO Star Citizen after 8 years – And he gets it.
