Star Citizen's single-player spin-off is now playable start to finish, still set for 2026

[Daniel Sims]

Something to look forward to: The original Kickstarter for Star Citizen and its single-player component, Squadron 42, began in 2012, a year that feels so distant that teenagers and young adults now share memes expressing nostalgia for it. After 13 years and almost a billion dollars, neither game is finished, but studio head and industry legend Chris Roberts remains confident that Squadron 42 will launch next year.

In a recent year-end assessment, Cloud Imperium Games founder and CEO Chris Roberts revealed that Squadron 42, the story-based portion of Star Citizen, is content-complete and quickly approaching beta. The ambitious space simulation action game has suffered multiple delays spanning over a decade.

Squadron 42 was originally scheduled for release in 2014, then in 2020. In 2022, Roberts stated that the game was one or two years out. Squadron 42 has been in its final polishing phase since 2023, and CIG has maintained a 2026 release date since last year. Roberts now claims that all chapters are fully playable.

The game promises a mixture of first-person shooter and flight simulation combat, allowing players to transition between traveling on foot, exploring spaceships, and flying between planets without loading screens. Recalling the star-studded FMV scenes from Wing Commander in the 1990s, Squadron 42 will also feature a cinematic storyline spanning 40 hours that includes performances from Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, Gary Oldman, and Mark Strong. A lengthy video from last year (above) revealed the game's opening.

Meanwhile, Roberts also covered the development of Star Citizen, the main online multiplayer component, which remains in alpha with no concrete release date. In 2025, CIG introduced two new explorable solar systems that players transition between using the unique server meshing feature, which enables up to 700 players to interact simultaneously across planets and solar systems. CIG plans to increase the number to thousands.

Star Citizen also gained nearly 100 new locations, environmental features, ships, and experimental VR support, with other major features still planned. A major focus in 2026 will be procedurally generated planets, which will create biomes, lifeforms, cities, and NPCs on a massive scale, resembling Bethesda's Starfield but without loading screens.

CIG's unusually long development cycle is possible due to the longest and most successful crowdfunding campaign in gaming history. Funding, primarily from selling in-game spaceships and other items, accelerated after the pandemic and currently stands at over $926 million. The campaign will likely exceed $1 billion before Squadron 42 launches.

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Star Citizen's single-player spin-off is now playable start to finish, still set for 2026

 

[m4a4]

Here's to hoping that it's not too cinematics/narrative heavy and that players get right into the action. Though, I do like a cool cinematic here and there...

 

[wiyosaya]

Here's to hoping that it's not too cinematics/narrative heavy and that players get right into the action. Though, I do like a cool cinematic here and there...

I can only imagine the denier's comments when it finally reaches release.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Just on principle, if that game ever gets released (still doubt it) it MUST be pirated and no dime spent on it…

 

[Burty117]

On one hand, I cannot wait to play this, the first hour play-through they showed off looks really good, it seems they’ve really gone to town on details and a story etc… been wanting a decent space faring single player game since Mass Effect, this scratches a more technical geeky scratch with all the details in the ships, alien languages etc…

Another part of me is worried it just cannot live up to $1 billion worth of hype, or the game just isn’t good enough.

I hope it’s good, I hope it succeeds, CIG has never released a game before, it could be a very strong first release.

 

[KedsDead]

I have had a great time playing SC. I have gotten more than my money's worth in play time. I have a lot of games, where I spend $60+ and have played them 50 hours or less. I have hundreds of hours in SC and only spend $45 for the starter ship.

 

[godrilla]

Always said the race was on for hl3 and this didn't think it was this close.

 

[wiyosaya]

I have had a great time playing SC. I have gotten more than my money's worth in play time. I have a lot of games, where I spend $60+ and have played them 50 hours or less. I have hundreds of hours in SC and only spend $45 for the starter ship.

So whatever negative press/comments/who knows what you have heard, your personal experience is that its among the best of games ever?

That's what your comment sounds like to me.

Thanks for some rational "actually played the game" input.

BTW - I'm a backer, too, but my life has been too busy and now, I need a hardware upgrade. No worries about the upgrade, however, I was planning on doing that, soon, anyway.

 

[KedsDead]

So whatever negative press/comments/who knows what you have heard, your personal experience is that its among the best of games ever?

That's what your comment sounds like to me.

Thanks for some rational "actually played the game" input.

I wont say its the best game ever. I was not trying to make it sound that way.

My comment was more centered around my experience with the game. People say its a scam. Most scams, involving games, are straight lies about the state of the game. This game you can actually play. Go be mercenary, space trucker, space pirate, miner, salvager, ect.. Yeah, its only 3 systems with a couple dozen places go to in each one, but there is plenty to do and new systems to test out.

Here I go again, sounding like its the greatest game ever. I'm having fun in the game, thats basically all I am trying to say.

 

[AlexIL]

By this time lost all interest in SQ42/SC. There is a limit on how long you can drag it. Moved on long time ago.

 

[wiyosaya]

I wont say its the best game ever. I was not trying to make it sound that way.

My comment was more centered around my experience with the game. People say its a scam. Most scams, involving games, are straight lies about the state of the game. This game you can actually play. Go be mercenary, space trucker, space pirate, miner, salvager, ect.. Yeah, its only 3 systems with a couple dozen places go to in each one, but there is plenty to do and new systems to test out.

Here I go again, sounding like its the greatest game ever. I'm having fun in the game, thats basically all I am trying to say.

And it sounds like there's quite a bit to have fun with. Being advertised as in Alpha all along, IMO, is not the same as a scam. People who decided to play, like yourself, help to make it better.

By this time lost all interest in SQ42/SC. There is a limit on how long you can drag it. Moved on long time ago.

And I'm sure you are not the only one. If SQ42 finishes and releases, and it's looking more and more like it will do so eventually, then SC will also likely release sometime. I'm sure there will be plenty of people that will plunk down their money to play when either actually release.

And like the early Wing Commander games and the excellent game Strike Commander, I bet the game will be expanded with new features/systems/ships/whatever long after it actually releases.

 

[AlexIL]

And I'm sure you are not the only one. If SQ42 finishes and releases, and it's looking more and more like it will do so eventually, then SC will also likely release sometime. I'm sure there will be plenty of people that will plunk down their money to play when either actually release.

I doubt it. SQ42 if it flops will give SC brass perfect excuse to go bust. If SQ succeeds it will be perfect excuse to prolong SC “development” indefinitely. They only release SQ42 due to mounting pressure of whole thing being a scam and increasing number of lawsuits along with plummeting revenue. It is obvious to everyone by now they dragged the whole thing milking money as long as they could and there is zero reason not to believe the same continues.

As for people returning to play it, also no. People loose interest after a decade of wait, have commitments, find other games etc.

 

[Burty117]

I doubt it. SQ42 if it flops will give SC brass perfect excuse to go bust...

It's all been pre-paid for, how do you go bust when you haven't even gotten into debt? As we're about to discuss.

They only release SQ42 due to mounting pressure of whole thing being a scam and increasing number of lawsuits...

You may have to explain this one, I cannot find any lawsuits out there except for the CryTek lawsuit from like, 5-6 years ago, of which, CIG won...

along with plummeting revenue...

They keep making more money and breaking records every year, 2025 was the best year CIG has ever had, again, you're going to need to explain "plummeting revenue"...

It is obvious to everyone by now they dragged the whole thing milking money as long as they could and there is zero reason not to believe the same continues.

It is only "obvious" to those who genuinely think it's a scam, anyone who's played it, especially in the last year, know it's a fully functioning game.

Too many people out here thinking SQ42/SC are the only long running development cycles in history, Ashes of Creation, GTA6, Beyond Good & Evil 2, Duke Nukem Forever, The Last Guardian, the list goes on for games that took forever to develop, difference is, these were either sequals to existing franchises or nothing "technically" new, from existing developers who had already released games before (except Ashes, they're a new studio like CIG).

CIG went with an "open" development strategy, so we get to play what they're developing while it's in-progress, why this has been so hard for the internet to understand, I don't know.

As for people returning to play it, also no. People loose interest after a decade of wait, have commitments, find other games etc.

People didn't back the game, then hold their breath for 15 years. They did normal human things, get on with life and when the game finally launches, maybe go play it when they have time? They've already paid for it, So it's no skin off anyone's back if they don't play it, would be pretty strange to not go play something you paid for though.

CIG do free-fly events every so often for SC, you probably would benefit trying it out, if you're so convinced it's a scam, nothing's stopping you from trying it out and seeing what's there.

 

[Jarenien]

Here's to hoping that it's not too cinematics/narrative heavy and that players get right into the action. Though, I do like a cool cinematic here and there...

Hells no, playing a movie is EXACTLY what this game needs to be. It's why games like TLOU are so good, because you're playing a movie. Cinematic-heavy games are my jam and this one is going to definitely deliver!

 

[Squid Surprise]

Too many people out here thinking SQ42/SC are the only long running development cycles in history, Ashes of Creation, GTA6, Beyond Good & Evil 2, Duke Nukem Forever, The Last Guardian, the list goes on for games that took forever to develop, difference is, these were either sequals to existing franchises or nothing "technically" new, from existing developers who had already released games before (except Ashes, they're a new studio like CIG).

None of those games took 15 years… and Star Citizen won’t be released for at LEAST a few more years (I still bet on never)…

Chris Roberts has been doing this for awhile now - as I’ve posted in other threads about this scam, the only way this gets finished is if he dies/retires and another company buys the game and finishes it kind of like how MS finished Freelancer after he left…

For those who’ve paid already and are enjoying the buggy alpha you’ve got - good on you… but for anyone who actually wants a finished / polished game that actually delivers on all of Roberts’ promises - don’t hold your breath.

 

[m4a4]

Hells no, playing a movie is EXACTLY what this game needs to be. It's why games like TLOU are so good, because you're playing a movie. Cinematic-heavy games are my jam and this one is going to definitely deliver!

I said not TOO cinematic. It would do it a disservice to interrupt the player too much in this space sim.
They have their place (currently playing and enjoying Dispatch), but this one I feel like needs to breath beyond a cinematic heavy intro.

 

[Burty117]

None of those games took 15 years… and Star Citizen won’t be released for at LEAST a few more years (I still bet on never)

Sorry, do you think I picked those games randomly?
Ashes of Creation - 2016 - still not released
GTA6 - pre-production started in 2014 - still not released
Beyond Good & Evil 2 - 2007 - still not released
Duke Nukem Forever - infamous for taking 15 years to develop

I can name way more games here, that took 8-10-15+ years to develop, and they were usually developed by existing developers that have experience releasing games, CIG started from nothing.

No sane human was holding their breath, I’ve been looking forward to Beyond Good & Evil 2 for over half my life now, I don’t lose any sleep over it, just waiting for the day they finally release it.

Developers usually do one of two methods, stay quiet for 90+% of the development and only talk about it when it’s mostly cooked (closed development), or open development, bring everyone along for the ride, what I’ve learnt seeing how the internet has treated CIG, open development gives backers too much hope and promise, closed development probably is the correct course for most, even if its crowd funded.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Sorry, do you think I picked those games randomly?
Ashes of Creation - 2016 - still not released
GTA6 - pre-production started in 2014 - still not released
Beyond Good & Evil 2 - 2007 - still not released
Duke Nukem Forever - infamous for taking 15 years to develop

I can name way more games here, that took 8-10-15+ years to develop, and they were usually developed by existing developers that have experience releasing games, CIG started from nothing.

Ashes of creation - 9 years… NOT 15…
GTA6 - 11 years… NOT 15…
Duke Nukem Forever - 14 years…. NOT 15 years… and it SUCKED when released.
As for Beyond Good and Evil 2, while it was announced in 2007, I highly doubt that it actually began development then… not to mention that the creative director DIED a couple years ago…

And CIG didn’t really “start from nothing”… Chris Roberts held a lot of clout in the industry and they had a ton of “stuff”…. Not to mention the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars they’ve raised that dwarfs ANY video game ever made…

 

[Burty117]

Ashes of creation - 9 years… NOT 15…
GTA6 - 11 years… NOT 15…
Duke Nukem Forever - 14 years…. NOT 15 years… and it SUCKED when released.
As for Beyond Good and Evil 2, while it was announced in 2007, I highly doubt that it actually began development then… not to mention that the creative director DIED a couple years ago…

Again, I can list way more games, my point was, extra long development cycles have actually been happening for a while now, SC/SQ42 aren’t a weird outlier, having an open development with crowd funding was what actually made it different.

And CIG didn’t really “start from nothing”… Chris Roberts held a lot of clout in the industry and they had a ton of “stuff”…. Not to mention the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars they’ve raised that dwarfs ANY video game ever made…

Look, I didn’t know who the guy was before SC, only after searching him up did I find out he made a couple of games many years ago, one guy cannot make SC/SQ42, they just can’t, you could dedicate their entire lives to it, they wouldn’t finish it before death. He had the idea, the vision, that was it, he was able to convince the general public his vision was cool.

CIG went from just Chris Robert’s to 1000+ employees, spread across different countries, CIG went from no game engine, to today’s Star Engine, they went from a fairly small space sim, to a dedicated single and multiplayer games, created their own launcher, store etc…

The games listed above (except AoC) are from existing developers, they didn’t need to hire a ton of staff, they didn’t need to create a new engine, they had existing assets from existing franchises, they were already functioning businesses, CIG had to start all of that.

Have you ever watched interviews with the guys who started some of these studios? It’s not easy, getting to CIG size without releasing a product prior is impossible, it’s only because of crowd funding it’s even happened. Could you imagine Robert’s going to EA or Ubi or Microsoft asking for 500 million to start a studio from scratch, to make some insane (and at the time, seemingly technologically difficult) couple of space games? They’d laugh him out the room.

 

[AlexIL]

Not to mention the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars

That’s the whole business model of CiG. Sell pixels “ships”, give tons of promises, profit. Releasing anything kills their business, why would they do that. It’s a perfect scam that cannot be caught as a scam legally. Imho SQ42 will be their exit strategy. Game will be shitty buggy flop which in turn will allow CiG to declare lack of further funding for SC and file gor Chapter 11. Unless they get some more investors which might be asians fooled by fake promises. EvE Online as good example of that. Oh and don’t bother replying to AI bots here, waste if time.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Again, I can list way more games, my point was, extra long development cycles have actually been happening for a while now, SC/SQ42 aren’t a weird outlier, having an open development with crowd funding was what actually made it different.

Look, I didn’t know who the guy was before SC, only after searching him up did I find out he made a couple of games many years ago, one guy cannot make SC/SQ42, they just can’t, you could dedicate their entire lives to it, they wouldn’t finish it before death. He had the idea, the vision, that was it, he was able to convince the general public his vision was cool.

CIG went from just Chris Robert’s to 1000+ employees, spread across different countries, CIG went from no game engine, to today’s Star Engine, they went from a fairly small space sim, to a dedicated single and multiplayer games, created their own launcher, store etc…

The games listed above (except AoC) are from existing developers, they didn’t need to hire a ton of staff, they didn’t need to create a new engine, they had existing assets from existing franchises, they were already functioning businesses, CIG had to start all of that.

Have you ever watched interviews with the guys who started some of these studios? It’s not easy, getting to CIG size without releasing a product prior is impossible, it’s only because of crowd funding it’s even happened. Could you imagine Robert’s going to EA or Ubi or Microsoft asking for 500 million to start a studio from scratch, to make some insane (and at the time, seemingly technologically difficult) couple of space games? They’d laugh him out the room.

Chris Roberts was a VERY experienced developer when he started CIG - and he had a bunch of people who had similar experience… and NO game has ever had as long a development as Star Citizen - or had as much money raised for it…you can’t compare this to anything currently or previously released by any company. The reason? It’s a scam!

I don’t think he began it as a scam - he has always been more ambitious than reality allows for (looking at you, Freelancer!)…

But no game should require 900 million dollars to make - and this will almost certainly raise over a billion shortly - and take 15+ years to finish.

 

[amghwk]

I wish once the game is released, Epic gives it out for free during one of its holiday giveaways.

The look on the suckers who paid for this abomination will be ...... priceless.

 

[wiyosaya]

That’s the whole business model of CiG. Sell pixels “ships”, give tons of promises, profit. Releasing anything kills their business, why would they do that. It’s a perfect scam that cannot be caught as a scam legally. Imho SQ42 will be their exit strategy. Game will be shitty buggy flop which in turn will allow CiG to declare lack of further funding for SC and file gor Chapter 11. Unless they get some more investors which might be asians fooled by fake promises. EvE Online as good example of that. Oh and don’t bother replying to AI bots here, waste if time.

CIG is now listing SC/SQ42 ships as "playable" and "concept" to new backers. The "playable" ones are more that just "pixel" ships as you call them. Anyone who backs a concept ship well, IMO, its "shame on them" and not "shame on CIG" if they pledge for it and find, DOH! It doesn't fly!

Pixel ships. Right! You would have to be a perfect dolt to pledge for a "concept" ship and then expect it to be playable right now. Then again, there are some backers....

 

[wiyosaya]

I wish once the game is released, Epic gives it out for free during one of its holiday giveaways.

The look on the suckers who paid for this abomination will be ...... priceless.

Ah, Had a game you payed for and then found it was part of a giveaway?

 

[wiyosaya]

Look, I didn’t know who the guy was before SC, only after searching him up did I find out he made a couple of games many years ago,

They were highly successful and ground breaking at the time. The Wing Commander series was the most recognized in the public eye, but speaking from the viewpoint of having played Strike Commander, it was equally as ground-breaking as the Wing Commander series and very enjoyable to play. I still have my copy of it and I'm tempted to install it in DOS Box and give it another go.

Privateer was also an excellent game, IMO.

Honestly, however, I was not happy with Wing Commander Academy.

one guy cannot make SC/SQ42, they just can’t, you could dedicate their entire lives to it, they wouldn’t finish it before death. He had the idea, the vision, that was it, he was able to convince the general public his vision was cool.

Very true. No one could possibly make a game like SC or SQ42 on their own, nor could they make Wing Commander or Strike Commander on their own, either.

Have you ever watched interviews with the guys who started some of these studios? It’s not easy, getting to CIG size without releasing a product prior is impossible, it’s only because of crowd funding it’s even happened. Could you imagine Robert’s going to EA or Ubi or Microsoft asking for 500 million to start a studio from scratch, to make some insane (and at the time, seemingly technologically difficult) couple of space games? They’d laugh him out the room.

You're probably wasting your keystrokes on this plea since think SC SQ42 is an overpriced scam, they probably figure its not worth their time.