Squadron 42 should finally be released next year.
In 2026, the funds raised for the development of Star Citizen will exceed $1 billion, but it is still unknown when exactly the release of the space sim will take place, for which Cloud Imperium Games head Chris Roberts has been collecting money since 2012.
As of the end of 2025, the total amount of crowdfunding for Star Citizen is about $927 million. Over the year, the project attracted record funds — more than 152 million, which is 35% more than the previous record. Such surges are associated with major events like the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo (IAE), where virtual ships and starter packs are sold.
Funds were initially raised through Kickstarter and the developers' website, but now the main income comes from microtransactions, paid access to the alpha version (yes, you pay to test the game), and the sale of virtual spaceships, some of which cost tens of thousands of dollars. At the current rate of collection, the $1 billion mark could be crossed in the first half of 2026. For comparison: this amount would be enough to create five games at the level of God of War: Ragnarök — and Sony Santa Monica would probably have managed to complete them — or three Cyberpunk 2077s, the budget of which, including marketing, was about 315 million.
