Light at the end of the tunnel? After 14 years of development and over $1 billion in crowdfunding, Star Citizen remains in alpha with no final release date in sight. However, its single-player spinoff, Squadron 42, feels closer than ever. A new Steam page lists notably modest minimum system requirements, and streamers recently began sharing their hands-on impressions following a demo event.
Anyone who still believes in Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts' vision after 14 years of repeated delays can now wishlist Squadron 42 on Steam. The space simulation action game is a solo, story-based spinoff of Roberts' MMO, Star Citizen, which remains deep in development.
The Squadron 42 Steam page features a new trailer with a few gameplay snippets and lists the minimum system requirements. Many influencers and streamers were invited to play the game for around five hours on October 9 and 10, and have since shared their thoughts, offering more specifics on what players can expect when (if?) Squadron 42 goes public.
Earlier demonstrations showed a mix of on-foot first-person shooter action and flight-simulation combat with a heavy focus on immersion. Hands-on reports further explain that Squadron 42 isn't an open-world game, but rather a more linear experience that might feel unusual compared to other recent AAA games.
Previews also point out its heavily cinematic presentation. Recalling Wing Commander's FMV cutscenes, Squadron 42 features a star-studded cast including Gillian Anderson, Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, John Rhys-Davies, Liam Cunningham, Ben Mendelsohn, and Henry Cavill.
The recent updates also suggest the game might not be as demanding as this year's biggest releases. Although Squadron 42 requires Windows 11, CPU support extends all the way back to quad-core AMD Bulldozer and Intel Sandy Bridge chips from the early 2010s, such as the legendary i5-2500K.
Furthermore, the game requires DirectX 12 support but appears to support any DirectX 11.1-compatible GPU with at least 8GB of VRAM. PowerGPU founder Jese Martinez, who attended the preview event, claims he saw Squadron 42 average 180fps on an RTX 5090 in native 4K using the game's homegrown "StarAA" anti-aliasing solution. Still, the game requires 150GB of storage space.
Squadron 42 and Star Citizen have been in production on one level or another since 2011, which might explain the system requirements. Both have suffered repeated delays. While Star Citizen remains in alpha after $1 billion in crowdfunding, the solo spinoff has been content-complete since late 2025.
Roberts first targeted a 2026 launch in 2024 but recently used Grand Theft Auto VI's impending launch as an excuse for yet another delay. Squadron 42's Steam page now lists a second-quarter 2027 release window, and a more precise date might emerge soon.
Star Citizen's single-player spin-off gets a Steam page, and early hands-on reports
