Machine Translation:
CIG Montréal will work on refining the online game Star Citizen , which has been available in a pre-official version since 2017, but whose official launch version ( Star Citizen 1.0 ) is now promised for 2027 or 2028.
“The name Turbulent was more associated with our technology solutions than with video games,” explains Benoît Beauséjour, Turbulent’s co-founder who is now CTO of Cloud Imperium Group (CIG). “To attract specialized staff, our video game group will now be called CIG Montreal.”
CIG Montréal is indeed looking to increase its workforce to some 150 employees. Its ambition is to become one of the largest studios in Montreal. Turbulent, for its part, will continue to exist for web projects, including the updating of the National Bank and Ricardo websites.
Star Citizen is a fully crowdfunded, massively multiplayer online first-person space simulation game. Chris Roberts, co-founder and CEO of CIG, says he's raised just over $1 billion for his game from players, some of whom are growing impatient and eager to see the finished product.
"It allows us to do things without imposing the framework of a typical video game studio," Chris Roberts said in an interview with La Presse from his home in Los Angeles. "The players who fund us expect the best game, period. We don't have to streamline, cut jobs, or change our business model."
The British entrepreneur knows the Quebec metropolis well, having participated in the filming of feature films there, at a time when he was taking a break from video games. He appreciates the city and the talent of its video game specialists.
He planned to be there to personally inaugurate the renaming of his studio, but the turbulence at Air Canada decided otherwise.
On the way to the "final" version of Star Citizen , CIG Montreal plans to launch the single-player game Squadron 42 next year , with a more conventional narrative and set in the same universe as the latter. Several new features introduced by Squadron 42 will then be used to enhance Star Citizen .
Squadron 42 will launch at a point in 2026 where it won't be overshadowed by the most anticipated game of the next few months, Grand Theft Auto VI . "We're hoping it'll be almost as big an event. Other than GTA 6 , it's probably the biggest-budget AAA game," says Chris Roberts.
Star Citizen already has over a million returning players every month. In total, at least 25 million people have played it at least once. This should help CIG successfully market Squadron 42 , as many of these players are eagerly awaiting the new title.
Others might be drawn to the formula or the characters. "It's Top Gun meets Star Wars ," says Chris Roberts.
Throughout the action, players will be able to rely on sidekicks who take on the features of well-known actors, including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, and Gillian Anderson. The voices and gestures of the three actors were digitized in the studio to create realistic avatars.
In addition to Mr. Beauséjour, Turbulent's other co-founder Marc Beaudet and partner Claire Buffet have taken on new roles at CIG. The former will lead the studios in Montreal, Manchester, England, Austin, Texas, and Frankfurt, Germany. Ms. Buffet becomes head of operations and human resources for CIG's North American offices.
Source (Star Citizen Tools Bluesky): https://bsky.app/profile/starcitizen.tools/post/3lwzm6lfdss2b
