Cloud Imperium Games Ltd.
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Quick facts:Cloud Imperium Games Ltd.
Cloud Imperium Games is an independent video game development company and a subsidiary of Cloud Imperium. It develops both Squadron 42 and Star Citizen, while also working on the game engine, the facial pipeline and the cinematic experience in Squadron 42 amongst other things.
History
Foundry 42
What later became the current Cloud IMperium Games Ltd was initially founded on 2013-09-24 as Foundry 42 due to focusing on the development of Squadron 42 and because Cloud Imperium Games UK already existed at the time.[1] It opened its first office in Wilmslow, Cheshire, UK around January 2014. Additional studios were opened in Frankfurt, Germany in July 2015 and Derby, UK in March 2017.[2][3][4]
Cloud Imperium Games Ltd rebranding
Foundry 42 later rebranded to 'Cloud Imperium Games Ltd.' on 2019-03-06 for better brand unification.[5][6]
In 2022 Cloud Imperium Games opened a new lead studio in Manchester, moving from the offices in Wilmslow. The new office will accommodate up to 1000 employees.[7] In early 2024, a relocation of staff to the Manchester studio takes place.[8]
Following the staff relocation, the closure of the Los Angeles studio was announced in March 2025.[9] A small group of community members who have made a lasting impact on the Star Citizen scene in California were invited, from Bar Citizen organizers to CitizenCon volunteers and local content creators, to pick up a piece of the wall art.[10]
Studios
Cloud Imperium Games has 5 offices worldwide: Manchester and Derby in the UK, Montreal in Canada, Austin in the US, and Frankfurt in Germany, each with a rough list of specialist teams provided here if possible.
United Kingdom
CIG UK numbered 693 employees as of December 2024,[11] more than half the total number, with a further unknown number being relocated to it in early 2025 from abroad.
- Manchester:[12] Graphics (low-level), UI, Audio, Ships (especially those needed for Squadron 42), Environment (Level Design), Props, Marketing, Support
- Derby: Facial Pipeline
Canada
- Cloud Imperium Games Montreal opened in 2025, as part of the already existing Turbulent.[13]
Germany
- Frankfurt[14]: Engine (Star Engine), Tools, AI (Subsumption), Cinematics, FPS weapons, Environment (Prodecural Planets and Space Stations), Lighting[15]
United States
- Austin, Texas
Trivia
- CIG has won the Massively OP’s Best of 2015 Awards: MMO Studio of the Year.[16]
- Several items in the game Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues are named after Cloud Imperium due to a cross promotion.
References
- ↑ Around the Verse: Episode 2.24
- ↑ Around the Verse: Episode 2.05. YouTube, 29 Oct 2015
- ↑ Inside CIG: Foundry 42 Germany, YouTube, 10 Apr 2015
- ↑ ATV Interview: Brian Chambers, YouTube, 3 May 2016
- ↑ Foundry 42 Ltd Rebrands to Cloud Imperium Games Ltd
- ↑ Cloud Imperium Games Limited - Companies House UK
- ↑ [1]. CIG, 2024-01-01
- ↑ Some Star Citizen devs reportedly laid off as Cloud Imperium restructures, videogameschronicle.com, 28th Feb 2024
- ↑ "[...]That also means we’re saying a bittersweet goodbye to our Los Angeles studio.[...]," Chairman's Club email, 21st March 2025
- ↑
This Week in Star Citizen. Transmission - Comm-Link. Retrieved 2025-03-31
- ↑ Cloud Imperium Games Limited, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, UK companies house, 20 Aug 2025
- ↑ Hub Crawl Hero - Fireside Chat with Carl Jones - Cloud Imperium Games: "Why Manchester?", YouTube, 23 May 2023
- ↑ Le studio web Turbulent devient Cloud Imperium Games Montréal, lapresse.ca, 22 août 2025
- ↑ STAR CITIZEN: Around the Verse - Episode 100 Celebration, Part IV, YouTube, 21 Jul 2016
- ↑ Happy Hour Interview w/ Brian Chambers, YouTube, 5 May 2017
- ↑ Massively OP’s Best of 2015 Awards: MMO Studio of the Year, massivelyop.com, December 10, 2015
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