It feels like a very long time since Star Citizen's Kickstarter campaign launched, an astonishing 12 years ago. To many of the game's younger players, the campaign literally predates their birth-a strange, interesting piece of gaming history. Yet, despite all this time that has passed, there is one key question that remains for Cloud Imperium: when will Star Citizen finally be released? While the multiplayer portion still remains a mystery, there is, in fact, a single-player portion to look forward to, titled Squadron 42, which is allegedly coming sometime in 2026. But we know how that goes, considering the developmental rollercoaster this game has been on.
That's a pretty broad release window, but CIG chief visionary Chris Roberts seemed "confident" of hitting it for Squadron 42 during last week's CitizenCon event. It came hot off the heels of a showcase that included the first hour of the game, complete with long cutscenes full of famous actors who finished their mo-cap performances some eight years ago. The demo also included some very pretty but linear space battles, a first-person shooter section, and - somewhat less surprisingly - a few bugs and crashes. The live demo was fun but prone to some technical glitches, which encouraged onlookers to seek out a smoother version of the gameplay reveal in online video.
And let's not forget that these sorts of crashes happen all the time during game development, especially for PC games with so many varied configurations. That this was a pre-prepped demo, though, and that it still had issues, sets eyebrows a-raisin', especially considering Squadron 42 has been in its "polish phase" for a whole year now. The thought of this polish phase continuing into 2026-that's three years from now-is starkly reminding one of the struggles Star Citizen has continually faced since the beginning of its development.
The hour shown was only the prologue for Squadron 42, while the full game promises to be a sprawling 30-40 hour experience. Roberts reassured that the quality of the game would live up and exceed the standards put forward by the demo-a more stable experience with no crashes. He also took the time to thank backers for their continued support, which allowed the studio to pursue such an ambitious project.
The problem is, that's not particularly evident from the prologue. By which I mean, the cinematic introduction to Squadron 42 is undeniably impressive-more than a few celebrated actors crop up, and there's all manner of high-stakes action-but it also feels vaguely.familiar. Linearity and heavy scripting make the opening salvo of gameplay feel a little too like something the player's played before, and leave them hankering for something more innovative. Whether Squadron 42 can live up to the high expectations from its very long development time and community supporting it since ground was laid over a decade ago remains to be seen, even as the demo visual presentation steals the limelight.
If anything, 2026 should be the year when Star Citizen finally makes good on its promise and delivers a ground-breaking experience worth all these years of anticipation. Until then, it's up to the players to chart a course through the cosmos of uncertainty about this ambitious title.