Star Citizen dev opens new office

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games--led by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts--has opened a new office in Santa Monica, California. The outfit will assist in the development of the space simulator, which raised more than $8.6 million across Kickstarter and other donation destinations.

With the arrival of an office in Santa Monica, Cloud Imperium Games spreads its development shops even further. The company also has offices in Montreal, Austin, and Los Angeles. According to Roberts, this approach was intentional.

"I'm a big believer in utilizing small, very focused development groups," Roberts said in a statement. "Each studio is working on key features of the game. In Santa Monica we're working on some of the high-end creative elements, the structuring of our game engine, and publishing. Other studios are working on technology, game design and production, customer support, and web development.

The 2,9000 square foot office in Santa Monica is located in the Third Street Promenade area, just blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Cloud Imperium Games hopes to hire up to 20 people at the outfit. More information is available at the developer's website.

Star Citizen has been in development at Cloud Imperium Games for more than a year. The game itself includes a "sophisticated storyline" that is set in a persistent online universe. According to Roberts, it will fuse elements of his previous games, Wing Commander and Freelancer, and support for the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift is planned.

Much like Guild Wars II, Star Citizen will be available through a one-time purchase, but will not require a subscription. Players can also purchase virtual items with real-world money to customize their ships.