For an indie MMO, these are remarkably high numbers: 475 employees are currently reported to be working on Star Citizen and Squadron 42. And most of them are working in the northwest of England.
The US site Dualshockers has released new figures on Star Citizen. The workforce is now said to have grown to 475 employees. A significant step compared to the crowdfunding beginnings in 2012.
But by now, the game has raised over $178 million through crowdfunding and has almost 2 million registered users. And the money keeps flowing: In 2017, Star Citizen earned more money than all Kickstarter games combined.
How the 475 employees of Star Citizen are distributed across the 5 studios
Cloud Imperium Games now has 5 studios, with another one opened in Derby, England. The 475 employees are distributed as follows:
- 234 work in Manchester, England
- 75 in Los Angeles, USA
- 71 in Austin, USA
- 80 work in Frankfurt, Germany
- and 15 in Derby, England
Large project – large workforce
So many developers are needed because Squadron 42 alone has the scale of a large AAA game, says Foundry 42 head Erin Roberts. Additionally, it takes a lot of effort to develop all the new technology. The persistent universe of Star Citizen is also a major undertaking.
Erin Roberts is optimistic about this workforce size, believing that development will progress excellently in 2018. There is confidence in delivering a lot of gameplay content to the community.
Star Citizen is developed in old industrial centers
Roberts notes that with Manchester and Derby, there is a focus on the northwest of England because excellent conditions can be found here. There are attractive tax breaks for game developers. Additionally, these are good places to hire developers, as the cost of living is relatively low. This way, you get the best value for your money in these regions.
The new studio in Derby was opened, for example, to attract local developers to the team. They are specialists in facial animation.
Manchester and Derby are actually traditionally industrial cities that have made the leap into the new era.
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