Squadron 42 is a Couple of Years Off, as the Star Citizen Dev Grows into a Bigger Studio

Star Citizen has been in development for more than a decade and originally had a targeted release date of 2014. That obviously came and went, with the announcement of Squadron 42 as the story portion and RPG heart of the experience, followed by missed dates and a ‘when it’s done’ stance. A new feature puts CIG in a good place, expanding and growing the studio in Manchester, England, but still estimates Squadron 42 to be a couple of years off.

This probably doesn’t surprise many, but after this many years and an alpha proceeding to grow, this part isn’t a guess. A new feature with Cloud Imperium Games’ COO Carl Jones in MCV/Develop features Jones talking about the development and he comments directly on the state of Squadron 42: “Yeah, it could be one or two years more,” he says, nothing that Chris Roberts is moving over to Manchester for longer times and will be able to work closely with the developers at the new and growing studio location. With this, Jones seems optimistic about getting Squadron 42 on track towards completion. “We want to get that game finished, but it will be finished when it's ready,” he says, surprising no one who has followed Star Citizen and Squadron 42. 

Yet, the direct statement that it could be another year or two before it’s ready is somehow less vague than some of the prior ‘when it’s done’ statements. Star Citizen itself has gotten some big changes over the past year, and while that is still in alpha and will remain so. Yet, once Squadron 42 does see the light of day, it does seem likely that the experience will be integrated sometime after that.

We’ll all wait until something does materialize, but with Star Citizen’s successful fundraising and CIG’s move to a new studio, accompanied by new hiring, maybe Squadron 42 is indeed something we’ll get to get a good look at in a year or two.