• Hexboare [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    27 days ago

    Is it actually that financially successful? The problem with this “model of development” is that you can’t make a huge profit because you’re compelled to keep the gravy train going until it implodes

    • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.netOP
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      27 days ago

      It was successful for Chris Roberts and his immediate inner circle. The game may be a money sink approaching a billion dollars but he continues to take his cut.

      One of the earliest quotes from him making promises about Star Citizen was that you “would never find him on a yacht while the game is still in development.”

      About that…

      • Hexboare [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        27 days ago

        If I was Chris Roberts I would be bleeding the company dry at possible turn

        Run all the employee salaries through your payroll processing firm, lend yourself money to buy the building to rent back to CIG, lease the IP (I think he did actually sell it), etc.

        Not only is it a scam at this point, but it’s a deeply inefficient one - you don’t need to hire 500 staff to produce what looks like a couple million in content to keep the grift going

        I think it’s rumoured him and his relatives take about 10 percent of revenue, which is actually pretty small for a conman from Hollywood

        • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.netOP
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          27 days ago

          If it’s only 10 percent, that’s still far more money than most people could really spend in ways that actually matter for quality of life. It may not attain the leaderboards of billionaire vampires, but only billionaire vampires and their ghoul followers care about that.

      • Hexboare [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        27 days ago

        Revenue is very high but I don’t think Roberts has the intelligence to skim the amount of profits you’d expect from a commercially successful game