Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium to open new UK studio

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games is opening a new studio in Manchester, UK.

The Manchester location is scheduled to open in May 2022, and according to Cloud Imperium will create more than 700 jobs in the metropolitan area by 2023.

Cloud Imperium already has one studio in Wilmslow, UK, but intends to relocate that team over to its new Manchester headquarters.

The Manchester team will support the development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42 alongside Cloud Imperium's other studios in Los Angeles, Austin, and Frankfurt.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, welcomed the news and said the Manchester studio would allow the region to "play a new role in the future of gaming."

"Greater Manchester is an ambitious tech hub and has become a magnet for digital talent, with a community of industry pioneers, specialist academics and creative minds. We look forward to welcoming Cloud Imperium Games to the city-region in 2022," added Burnham.

Cloud Imperium has made headlines over the years due to the colossal amounts of public and private funding it has received to develop Star Citizen, a sprawling sci-fi title that has been in development for a decade.

Earlier this year, the studio received a warning from the Advertising Standards Authority over the way it markets "concept ships" to early access players.