The wait for the Star Citizen story campaign has already lasted 13 years, and may continue even longer.
Cloud Imperium Games has admitted that the single-player campaign Squadron 42 may not be released in 2026 as planned. In a recent episode of Star Citizen Live, content director Jared Huckaby admitted that the game may not be released in 2026.
«There will be nothing related to Squadron 42 at CitizenCon Direct this year. The team is now fully focused on work. We have set a clear goal for 2026. I don’t know if we’ll make it, but I know we’ll do everything we can to make it. This is partly due to the fact that we will not be distracted by participating in CitizenCon.»
Nevertheless, the developers' statements are becoming less and less definite. In October 2023, Cloud Imperium officially announced the completion of active development and the project's transition to the polishing phase. Since then, the studio has regularly emphasized that it intends to bring Squadron 42 to the technical and visual level of modern blockbusters.
CIG head Chris Roberts describes the campaign as "a mix of Star Wars and Top Gun" and expects a launch on the scale of GTA VI. He also noted that the game will be the biggest release of 2026 after the Rockstar project.
There is no doubt about the studio's ambitions: over the years of development, Star Citizen has raised $865 million, and the cast of Squadron 42 includes stars such as Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Henry Cavill, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis and Liam Cunningham. However, these ambitions remain unrealized.
The studio is still officially targeting 2026, but in a situation where even the developers are talking about a lack of confidence, the community can only wait.
