Star Citizen’s Squadron 42 Campaign Receives 2026 Launch Window Featuring 30-40 Hours of Gameplay

The highly anticipated CitizenCon event, organized by Cloud Imperium Games, commenced today in Manchester, once again shining a spotlight on the ongoing development of the sci-fi game Star Citizen. The first day of the live showcase culminated with an extensive preview of the single-player campaign, Squadron 42. At the conclusion of this segment, the developers announced an expected launch window for the campaign in 2026.

Chris Roberts confirmed that players could expect to spend approximately 30 to 40 hours to complete the campaign. Following this announcement, he introduced Richard Tyra, the Senior Game Director for both Star Citizen and Squadron 42, who proceeded to conduct a live session showcasing an extended prologue of the game, emphasizing that simply airing a gameplay video is “not our style”. Although the live demonstration faced some technical difficulties with crashes and graphical issues, the overall detail and scale presented were noteworthy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3eHBhHsrm4

CitizenCon 2954: Day One [Full Broadcast] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3eHBhHsrm4)

Starting around the seven-hour and thirty-minute mark, the gameplay segment introduced players to the beginning of the story, leading them through a brief introductory sequence that focuses on character selection and gear acquisition as they join a colossal human fleet of spacefaring vessels. Shortly thereafter, players encounter a Vanduul alien formation, leading to intense conflict between the two factions. After an impressive cinematic sequence, control shifts back to the player for first-person gameplay that showcases various elements, including gunplay, zero-gravity maneuvering, and intricate ship systems. Notably, the mission features popular actors such as Gillian Anderson, Gary Oldman, and Henry Cavill.

Those who have been following this crowd-funded initiative might recall that a year ago, Squadron 42 was deemed “feature complete,”and Cloud Imperium Games announced that the focus has since shifted to polishing the game for its final release.

During the event, co-founder and director of Star Citizen, Chris Roberts, addressed the audience regarding the progress made since the previous status update:

“Last year, we declared Squadron 42 feature complete, so you may wonder what our team has been engaged in since then. With the immense scope and ambition of Squadron 42, our teams have dedicated their efforts to refining and optimizing the game to fulfill the high standards that I, the team, and all of you expect. This level of excellence requires time, and we are determined to provide an experience that justifies the journey.”

If Cloud Imperium adheres to the newly established timeline, fans will have access to Squadron 42 by 2026. Additionally, the studio is committed to regularly enhancing the MMO space RPG component, Star Citizen, with updates every quarter.

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