![star citizen vr star citizen vr](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pGRrHdSLzyg/maxresdefault.jpg)
Though there is no indication of how much was paid specifically to employees at the company's various levels, the report notes that Roberts purchased a house for $4.7 million in LA in September of last year. Cloud Imperium has 537 employees at five separate offices, which in 2017 cost the company $30 million in total salaries - the company's largest expense. Speaking to 20 former employees of Cloud Imperium, Forbes presents a picture of Roberts as a "micromanager and poor steward of resources" in a "chaotic" work environment. But a major component of the situation at Cloud Imperium reportedly involves the management decisions of the company's founder, Chris Roberts.
![star citizen vr star citizen vr](https://media.robertsspaceindustries.com/7cde91pn6ofil/source.jpg)
The reasons for Star Citizen's prolonged development and its constant pursuit of more funds (including a $46 million investment last year that was almost entirely dedicated to marketing) is not something that can be chalked up to a single issue. Not one of the promised "100 star systems" has been finished so far. Based on playable alpha modes and footage, it still seems a long way off. Star Citizen was originally planned for launch in 2014, but has since been delayed and now has no projected release date. The game has had a messy history already, having raised a total of $288 million so far, $242 million of which having been crowdfunded by fans. The fraught, eight-years-and-counting development of Star Citizen from Cloud Imperium Games seems to have no end in sight, and it seems one of the many reasons for that may be a mix of "chaotic" leadership practices and money mismanagement.Ī detailed Forbes report from earlier this week tells the story of the multiplayer space trading, combat, and exploration game that has been in development since 2011.