Star Citizen maker Cloud Imperium Games sets up a new studio in Germany

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games has opened a new development studio in Frankfurt, Germany.

The studio is in the home town of CryTek, and it’s no surprise since the new studio’s employees include a number who worked on Crytek’s CryEngine, which runs numerous first-person shooter games such as Far Cry to Crysis. The team will be the latest addition for a sizable development staff that has been funded via an unprecedented $84 million in crowdfunding.

“These are some of the top game developers in this part of the world,” said Cloud Imperium Games cofounder and creative director Chris Roberts in a statement. “We are extremely pleased to have them on our team and working with CIG in all aspects of creating Star Citizen. Their experience in working on CryEngine will pay huge dividends for us in the very near future. Some of their contributions are already showing up in in our single player game, Squadron 42, and our first person shooter elements.”

The new Foundry 42 office is on the western side of Frankfurt in a new business complex close to the city’s convention center and shopping district. The team has 21 people, but that number should increase to 50 by the end of the year — it lists lots of open jobs here.

The development director for the Foundry 42 German office is Brian Chambers, who said it was exciting to work on an ambitious project such as Star Citizen, a Wing Commander-like space sim with starships engaging in trade and combat.

Roberts, creator of the Wing Commander series, cofounded Cloud Imperium Games Corporation and its subsidiary, Roberts Space Industries, in April 2012. Roberts recently announced that a first-person shooter spinoff game, Star Marine, had been put on hold until quality issues have been fixed.