A new report from industry insider Tom Henderson paints a grim picture of Star Citizen, which is said to be nearing its end after twelve years of development and more than $728 million in crowdfunding revenue.
What kind of report is this? For the extensive article on insider-gaming.com, the renowned industry expert Tom Henderson is said to have spoken with more than a dozen former and current employees of Cloud Imperium Games.
Tom Henderson is considered one of the most reliable insiders in the gaming industry, with numerous contacts in the field. Moreover, many reports from previous years support the current allegations. Especially the exclusive story from Forbes in 2019 painted a terrible picture of Chris Roberts and the way Star Citizen is being developed.
Recently, among other things, the new hangar features went live on the Star Citizen servers:
History Repeats Itself
What does the insider report? The main findings from the report:
- The frustration within the development team is reportedly greater than ever before.
- MeinMMO reported years ago about the partly poor pay of the employees. The recent mandates for mandatory overtime before the upcoming CitizenCon are said to have added even more frustration to the team.
- Most of Henderson’s interviewees reportedly say that the company urgently needs a complete overhaul to survive. Some employees even believe the point has been reached where there is no turning back – due to mismanagement and the absurdly high costs, the path is inevitably leading to disaster.
- According to the report, the enormous revenues from crowdfunding are likely to be depleted soon. Employees report that they have felt the impact of the apparently dwindling funds over the past twelve months – planned salary increases and development measures have reportedly been frozen.
- Additionally, approximately 100 to 150 employees are said to be laid off in early 2024. Those who refused to sign a confidentiality agreement are reportedly pressured into not receiving any form of compensation.
- The sometimes very low salaries are said to stand in stark contrast to some other investments, such as a coffee bar that is said to occupy a large part of the 9th floor of the studio in Manchester. Moreover, there are said to be enormous expenditures for custom furniture, oversized props, and ornate wall coverings. One employee describes it as “a space version of Willy Wonka’s factory.” The story of expensive artworks in the offices of CIG from August 2023 fits into this picture.
- The employees rate the modified version of the CryEngine used for Star Citizen as “Frankenstein,” with which it is becoming increasingly difficult to work due to the continuous addition of new features.
- CIG’s unorthodox development processes are said to lead to further delays repeatedly. This includes the fact that the boss himself, Chris Roberts, continually intervenes in the creative processes and orders changes that are often said to cause weeks of problems.
- According to sources, these interventions often concern the smallest details that have no bearing on the gaming experience but consume an incredible amount of time nonetheless.
- Roberts’ perfectionism and leadership style are said to have become one of the greatest burdens for Star Citizen, Squadron 42, and CIG as a development studio, according to the consensus.
- Many experienced developers are said to have left the company over the years due to all these issues. New, often inexperienced developers were reportedly hired mainly because they were fans of Star Citizen. The current team is said to maintain one of the strongest cult-like mentalities in the entire industry, despite the frustration described at the beginning.
The report goes on to state that the current goal is to launch Squadron 42 as soon as possible to secure further funding for Star Citizen through the revenues generated. Despite the announcement last year, the single-player experience is said to be only now “feature-complete.”
Furthermore, the sources confirm the rumors that CIG is currently working on a third project to create another pillar for financing.
How does the community react to the new report? On Reddit, Tom Henderson’s article is already hotly debated. The main thread has already received 1,061 upvotes and more than 360 comments.
- DrPandemias writes (via Reddit): “A streamer […] played Star Citizen with people from the chat a few days ago. He spent an hour raving about the game and all the details and immersion. […] He started the game, spent about 10 minutes on the loading screen, crashed, and repeated that for an hour.” After that, there were reportedly many more problems. The player’s conclusion: That’s an expensive tech demo.
- 0-99C criticizes Chris Roberts (via Reddit): “The last game studio he led, Digital Anvil, ran out of money because it was poorly managed. It had to be rescued by Microsoft, who bought it and took over the development of Freelancer. Roberts was removed as CEO of Digital Anvil, and the scope of Freelancer was reduced […].”
- littlechefdoughnuts humorously comments on Reddit: “As an early supporter who gave up years ago on caring about a finished game, the real value I get out of this project is watching it fall apart.”
- baxte shares experiences with the cult (via Reddit): “I bought the game years ago. In the subreddit, I wanted to talk about inconsistencies and false statements, but I was told: I am a developer and you are wrong. […] I began to understand the mentality of cults. I no longer post there. There is no way to influence the followers.”
How do you evaluate Tom Henderson’s report? Are you still optimistic that Star Citizen and Squadron 42 will be released in their respective final forms? Do you perhaps even support the project currently? Or do you also believe that CIG is already racing towards the abyss? Share your thoughts in the comments! More on the current state of the game: The new update will take Star Citizen to a new level – and the entire MMORPG genre along with it.
