LogInSeveral developers reported that they were laid off, while others shared that the studio was a toxic place.
Image credit: Cloud Imperium Games, Star Citizen
Cloud Imperium Games, the developer of Star Citizen, which has been in development for quite a long time, was recently hit with layoffs.
Several former employees, including Level Designer Dane Kubicka, Austin QA Lead Vincent Sinatra, Austin Senior QA Analyst Andrew Rexroth, and Lead Producer Jake Ross reported on LinkedIn that they were laid off from the studio.
Adding to that, Game Director Todd Papy, who had worked on Star Citizen for nine years, left the studio in January.
Image credit: Cloud Imperium Games, Star Citizen
Well, being hit with layoffs is one thing, but when the studio is labeled as a "highly toxic company" is a completely different story. Recently, former Producer Annie Bouffard, who also departed from Cloud Imperium Games, shared that the studio had a toxic work environment.
She claimed that her concerns about potential layoffs were met with mockery during meetings, further alleging that what was presented as the relocation of employees to another office was actually massive layoffs in disguise.
The company has confirmed the layoffs but added that the restructuring hasn't affected many people.
"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," the company shared with GamesIndustry.biz. "As a result of this consolidation, a small number of positions were eliminated and we continue to recruit for key roles within the company."
You can read the source on Eurogamer, join our new Reddit page and our new Telegram channel, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.