Star Citizen delivers the next generation of space flight simulation gaming, combining FPS (First Person Shooter) combat and persistent MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) gameplay to create a living, breathing first person universe capable of truly unlimited gameplay experiences. In addition, through the game's advanced Newtonian physics engine, Star Citizen enables players to experience an unparalleled space sim flying experience with ship control, performance and response calculated based on dozens of dynamically generated physics based variables.

Star Citizen will not require a subscription, and not be free-to-play, it will will be available for a one-time purchase. And while players will be able to play in the Star Citizen universe for free, there will also be virtual items available for purchase with in-game credits so players can customize their ships and other items.

After successfully working together on the Star Citizen development for nearly 11 years, Cloud Imperium Group (CIG) announced that it has fully acquired Montreal-based studio Turbulent.

Today’s announcement completes a long-term and fruitful joining of the companies, with CIG announcing in 2020 that it had acquired a 25% shareholder stake in Turbulent. The addition of the studio reflects CIG’s strong presence in the bustling games community in Canada, with offices in Montreal and Toronto. CIG also has global studios in Los Angeles, Austin, Frankfurt, and Manchester, and now has over 1,100 employees around the world working on its ambitious projects.

“We enthusiastically welcome Turbulent to our family of studios, as an integral part of our Star Citizen development,” said CEO and founder of CIG, Chris Roberts. “Fundamentally, we recognize the shared cultural values and passions between our two companies, which have helped create a natural synergy and development pipeline for our joint projects over the past decade.”

Turbulent’s existing projects will continue as planned and its team of 189 employees will remain in place. The studio’s management team of Benoit Beauséjour (CTO), Marc Beaudet (CEO), Claire Buffet (VP Strategy & Creation), Guillaume Voghel (Development Director), and Dorine Segura (Operations Director) in Montreal will continue to run the studio. In addition, Beausejour and Beaudet will become CIG shareholders and join the CIG executive group as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Studios Operations, respectively.

“After more than a decade of shared success, it was only natural that the next step be to join forces,” said Benoit Beauséjour, co-founder of Turbulent. “The Montreal and Quebec gaming and tech industry benefit from this transaction, which serves to reaffirm the depth of talent to be found here. And we will benefit from the expertise of a huge global network of CIG talent while our studio team will now be able to work on projects that are international in scope.”

“Benoit and Marc have been great partners since the very first days of our crowdfunding campaign and have been an integral part of all our successes these past 12 years, from supporting our crowdfunding campaign, to developing our e-commerce platform, to building our marketing and platform infrastructure, and now to actively contributing to the development of our games,” further said Roberts of CIG. “As we approach some of our biggest milestones to date, we’ve never felt better equipped to realize the unprecedented ambition of Star Citizen and Squadron 42. We are on a unique journey and the Turbulent team have been with us every step of the way, sharing our relentless passion for making the best game universe ever. We could not be happier to welcome them to our CIG family of studios!“