Star Citizen Dev Gives Exciting Update on Squadron 42 Progress

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Cloud Imperium Games, the team behind Star Citizen, announced that Squadron 42 is now completely playable from beginning to end. This update came in their yearly review, where they also restated the release timeframe for the game, which has been in development for over ten years alongside Star Citizen.

Often considered the single-player story mode for Star Citizen, even though it’s a standalone game, Squadron 42 was first revealed in late 2012 as part of the original Star Citizen Kickstarter. At a presentation in October 2023, the developers announced the game’s features were finished and it had moved into alpha testing. Their financial report in 2024 stated they are currently aiming to release Squadron 42 in 2026.

CIG Reaffirms Squadron 42’s 2026 Launch Window

Chris Roberts, founder and CEO of Cloud Imperium Games, recently confirmed the 2026 launch target and shared an update on the game’s progress. He announced that the entire game is now playable from start to finish, and the development team is consistently testing it with complete playthroughs. Currently, the team is focused on refining the technical aspects of the game as they move towards a beta release.

Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) has been talking about a Squadron 42 beta for over ten years, and Chris Roberts admits fans are understandably excited to finally play it. He also stated they won’t be doing a lengthy marketing push, as they’ve already shown plenty of gameplay footage. This suggests we’ll get a clearer release timeframe – or even a specific launch date – shortly before the game comes out. While CIG hasn’t narrowed down the 2026 release window yet, and with 2025 almost over, a launch in the latter half of next year seems more probable than one in the first half.

Squadron 42 Will Take Approximately 40 Hours to Beat

In a recent update, Roberts revealed more details about the highly anticipated game, Squadron 42. He stated the game is massive, with over forty hours of gameplay. He also expressed confidence that the final product will be truly special once the remaining development – polishing, optimization, and bug fixes – is finished. The game’s impressive cast likely contributes to the excitement, featuring renowned actors like Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis, Henry Cavill, Sophie Wu, and Liam Cunningham.

CIG Calls 2025 Star Citizen’s ‘Year of Playability’

According to Roberts, 2025 will be a key year for making Star Citizen more playable. He points to the addition of two new star systems, the return of the Levski asteroid mining location, more frequent game updates, and the new server meshing technology released in late January as evidence. Looking ahead to 2026, Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) plans to focus on improving essential game features like inventory management, crafting, social interactions, and engineering. They will also continue to develop server meshing, eventually allowing larger groups of players to share the same game world.

Squadron 42 is a massive game – players can expect over forty hours of gameplay. It’s becoming evident that, once the final touches are added and any issues are resolved, it will be something truly exceptional.

While Squadron 42 is nearing release, a launch date for Star Citizen remains unknown. In August 2025, a report from Canadian news source La Presse indicated that Star Citizen could be released one or two years after Squadron 42, according to sources at Cloud Imperium Games Montreal (formerly Turbulent Games). Before this, a job posting from Cloud Imperium Games hinted that Squadron 42 might also be available on consoles. However, Star Citizen is expected to remain exclusively on PC, largely due to its demanding technical specifications and intricate controls.

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2025-12-23 21:36