Squadron 42 is now aiming for a launch in 2026. In 2023, it was 'feature complete' and only needed some 'polish.'

Star Citizen's Kickstarter was so long ago, that some of its younger players were not even born when the first version appeared 12 years ago. We still have no idea when it will be released. The singleplayer component of Squadron 42 will launch in 2026, which is not too far away. It's unlikely to be delayed, but it's possible.

CIG's chief fantasy-spinner Chris Roberts was "confident," that Squadron 42 will hit this incredibly wide release window over the weekend at CitizenCon (thanks, IGN). This announcement was made after a showcase of Squadron 42's first hour. The game featured long cutscenes with actors who performed their mo-cap performances over a decade earlier, flashy but linear space battles, FPS sections, a bunch bugs, and multiple crashes.

The demo was played live, so there were some issues. However, you can view a more stable version below, though it's still called "Live Gameplay Reveal".

Games will crash for a variety of reasons, especially when it comes to PC games. There are so many different hardware configurations that you have to take into account. This was a demo CIG had prepared in advance, but it was only a small section of the game. Squadron 42, on the other hand, has been in "polish" for a whole year.

The fact that the polishing phase will continue until 2026, or three years later, would have raised some eyebrows, if Star Citizen's development had not started well over a ten-year period ago.

This hour is only the prologue of the game. The full game will be a 30- to 40-hour cosmic romp. Roberts said, "We are confident that we can bring the game's quality up to the level shown in the demo and even more without crashes."

He thanked backers for their support and for "allowing [the studio] to build such an ambition game", but the ambition isn't particularly obvious from the prologue. It looks like a cinematic introduction with a number of celebrated actors, but it's not much new. It's a linear and heavily scripted hour.

I still want to play the game. Although perhaps not as much money as those who spent it 12 years ago. There are only a few more years left, people. Maybe.