Cloud Imperium Games decided to take their game development a step further as they announced that they are transferring their crowdfunding hit "Star Citizen" along with "Squadron 42" to the Amazon Lumberyard in a recent press release. The CryEngine used previously by Cloud Imperium is a derivative to present-day Amazon Lumberyard.
Although not explicitly revealed in the recent 2.6 Alpha update patch notes, the new introductory logo for "Star Citizen" spilled the beans. Cloud Imperium Games CEO and creative director Chris Roberts told PC Gamer, "We've been working with Amazon for more than a year, as we have been looking for a technology leader to partner with for the long term future of Star Citizen and Squadron 42."
According to Roberts, the free 3D engine by Amazon provides deep back-end cloud integration on AWS along with Twitch sponsorship for establishing a global connection to gamers worldwide, an excellent feature for their primary online game and a boost to "Squadron 42." The CEO also said that the transition from their previous engine to Lumberyard has been very smooth and easy.
The predecessor engine for "Star Citizen" and "Squadron 42" recently announced that Crytek studios will be revamping its core technologies, which involves CryEngine. As a response to this decision, Crytek will shut down five international studios excluding only Frankfurt, Germany and Kiev, Ukraine, according to Polygon.
"Our focus now lies entirely on the core strengths that have always defined Crytek - world-class developers, state-of-the-art technology and innovative game development," Crytek managing director and co-founder Avni Yerli said in a press release. He added that the company believes that "going through this challenging process will make us a more agile, viable, and attractive studio, primed for future success."
Produced by Cloud Imperium Games, "Star Citizen" is an upcoming space sim online game set in 30th century Milky Way. The game will be running in Microsoft Windows and Linux. The online game is the origin for the single-player and drop-in cooperative multiplayer campaign titled "Squadron 42." Both games are still in development and are slated for an unknown release date.
Watch the "Star Citizen" trailer below: