Squadron 42 has been delayed to 2027 to avoid GTA VI’s launch
Squadron 42 will not be launching in 2026
Although its Kickstarter ended in 2012, Star Citizen still lacks a firm release date. Squadron 42, originally Star Citizen’s single-player campaign, has long since split into a separate game, and since CitizenCon 2024, we’ve been told to expect it in 2026. Now, Robert Space Industries (RSI) has confirmed that the game has been delayed until 2027. Why? Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6).
RSI claims that Squadron 42 was due to launch in Q4 2026 around IAE, but the studio wants the game to have its own spotlight and avoid all of the coverage of Grand Theft Auto VI. By releasing their game later, Squadron 42 will likely get more coverage, which may result in higher sales. While GTA 6 isn’t launching on PC, that doesn’t mean that the gaming press will shelve their GTA coverage plans to focus on Squadron 42. Squadron 42 is now one of many games that have been delayed specifically to avoid GTA 6.
Squadron 42 is now due to be released in Q2 2027, with original backers and long-time Star Citizen content creators getting an opportunity to play Squadron 42 on October 9th and 10th.
Which brings me to the last thing I wanted to touch on. Squadron 42’s release.
At CitizenCon 2024 we announced we would ship in 2026. Our plan was to release in Q4 around IAE. But much like the rest of the industry there is no way I want to launch my spiritual successor to Wing Commander, a game that has had twelve years of blood, sweat and tears invested into it (we started Squadron 42 development in 2014 as 2013 was opening studios, hiring people and getting the Hangar module out for Star Citizen) launching into the attention buzz saw of GTA6. While GTA6 isn’t launching on PC this November, pretty much all outlets and most content creators will be all over it, not leaving a lot of room for other coverage.
We have taken a look at the release windows at the start of 2027, and decided that Q2 provides a better time for Squadron 42 to release.
We are allowing a small number of original backers and long-time Star Citizen content creators an opportunity to play Squadron 42 this October 9th and 10th. We’ll be making further announcements about our release plans during this time and a specific release date shortly afterwards.
– Robert Space Industries
RSI said that Squadron 42 was “content complete” in 2023
Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) has stated that Squadron 42 has been “content complete” since 2023. That means the game has spent almost three years in its polishing and bug-fixing phase. If the game launches in Q2 2027, it will be arriving almost 15 years after Star Citizen’s original Kickstarter. To be honest, it is concerning that Squadron 42 still lacks a firm release date. If the game were to be finished by Q4 2026, surely the studio could pick an arbitrary Q2 date and work toward it? If not, why not? Is Grand Theft Auto 6 the real reason for Squadron 42’s delay?
While Q2 2027 is now the targeted release timeframe for Squadron 42, it is hard to believe any release date that CIG and RSI give us. Gamers have been burned too many times before. At this point, gamers will need more than a vague release timeframe to believe these companies. Maybe we’ll see a new trailer soon? How about a real release date and some proper marketing? Without those, I expect the game to miss Q2 2027 too.
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