Squadron 42 gameplay video released; Star Citizen developer "confident" single-player element will launch in 2026

Something to look guardant to: When nan star-studded trailer for Star Citizen's single-player element, Squadron 42, dropped successful 2018, nan conception of a world pandemic seemed for illustration sci-fi, Russia wasn't making nan world worry, and Donald Trump was successful his 2nd twelvemonth successful office. Six years later and 12 years aft nan game's original Kickstarter, Squadron 42 still isn't here, but we've now been fixed a "confident" merchandise day of 2026, on pinch an hour-long gameplay video.

Developer Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) showed disconnected nan extended clip of Squadron 42 astatine CitizenCon 2954 astatine Manchester, UK, complete nan weekend.

A batch of nan video does bring to mind a modern type of nan aged Wing Commander games, which CIG leader Chris Roberts created. Players return connected nan domiciled of a rookie aviator connected committee a superior ship, going connected missions while forming relationships pinch different characters.

Wing Commander was a classical 90s series. Later games featured FMV scenes pinch stars specified arsenic Mark Hamill, Lord of nan Rings' John Rhys-Davies, and Back to nan Future's Thomas F. Wilson. This writer recalls big movie prima Ginger Lynn Allen's quality successful Wing Commander 3.

Squadron 42 has a stellar Hollywood cast, including Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, Gary Oldman, and Mark Strong. The actors vanished their capacity seizure for nan crippled measurement backmost successful 2015, truthful immoderate mightiness person forgotten they were moreover successful it.

The gameplay demo is beautiful dense connected nan cutscenes, mixed successful pinch on-rails turret action and a first-person shooting conception astatine nan end. It's adjacent to opportunity that guidance to nan video has been mixed.

Roberts said connected shape that Squadron 42 will person 30 to 40 hours of gameplay. As for nan elusive merchandise date, Roberts and nan squad are "confident" it will get successful 2026, truthful fans will beryllium waiting astatine slightest a twelvemonth and a fewer much months earlier trying retired nan last version. It's worthy remembering that Squadron 42 was scheduled to motorboat successful nan summertime of 2020, and successful 2022, Roberts said nan crippled was still 1 aliases 2 years away, truthful don't beryllium amazed if we acquisition much delays.

There's still nary merchandise model for nan main Star Citizen MMO game, which has now raised complete $729 cardinal successful crowdfunding since nan original Kickstarter successful 2012, which raised complete $2 million.