Cloud Imperium Games Revenue Hits $24.6 Million In May 2024

After a horrendous start to 2024, Cloud Imperium Games pulled ahead of last year's revenue through the first five months of the year in May. The company recorded $24.6 million in sales according to the CCU Game dashboard, a 28.8% year-over-year increase over May 2023's $19.1 million. The increase was so great in May that CIG's revenue for 2024 of $47.1 million is $200,000 greater than 2023's total through the first five months. Going into May, CIG's sales were down 19.1% for the year.

For those who keep track of new accounts (aka "new citizens"), May's 94,645 was 5.1% larger than the total of 90,026 in May 2023. The 28.8% surge in sales does not appear at superficial analysis from an unusual surge in interest in the game, but perhaps new players are more excited and spend more. While the data is not publicly available (to my knowledge), the theory could contain some merit. For the year, the number of new accounts created is still down 24.7%, from 319,902 through the first five months of 2023 to 240,987 during the same period in 2024.

Overall, the recorded sales tracked on the CCU Game dashboard is $704.5 million since the launch of the Kickstarter in October 2012. But Cloud Imperium has additional funding sources not tracked by the dashboard. Overall, the company has recorded $803.1 million in confirmed revenue (the funding page & tthe 2022 financial report).

• Sales/Pledges: $704.5 million (through 31 May 2024)
• Subscriptions: $33.0 million (through 31 December 2022)
• All other sources: $65.6 million (through 31 December 2022)

In addition, the company has received a total of $63.25 million in outside investment. According to the 2022 financial report, $4.8 million of the amount was returned to investors in 2020. Including the outside investment money, the total amount raised by CIG to create Squadron 42 and Star Citizen is $866.4 million.

I wrote last month that May would be a key financial month for CIG and in my opinion the company outperformed expectations. For the annual Invictus Fleet Week event, the 2024 version outperformed last year by 21%, with revenue reaching nearly $19.4 million and the number of new players attracted up 14% to 75,320 new accounts. According to the CCU Game dashboard, spending per new account during the sales event rose from $241/account in May 2023 to $257/account in May 2024.

While May provided a huge financial boost to CIG, they are still facing concerns. So far, revenue is flat for the year while CIG's costs typically increase around 15-20% per year. CIG is a privately held company so our information is around 18 months old now, but the company could face some cash flow issues if revenues don't pick up.

Also, the father-and-son partnership of Clive and Keith Calder, the major outside investors in CIG, have a put option they can exercise in the first quarter of 2025. While the company considers the possibility of the Calders exercising the option as "remote", good financial results throughout the remainder of 2024 would help solidify that opinion.