Cloud Imperium

Star Citizen maker Cloud Imperium finally announced a Squadron 42 release date frame, and it only took 10 years

Originally posted on Video Games on SI
By Josh Broadwell | Last updated Oct 20, 2024 5:06 PM ET

Cloud Imperium, makers of the eternally-in-development space game Star Citizen, finally announced a Squadron 42 release date frame. The announcement accompanied a lengthy Squadron 42 gameplay trailer during CitizenCon 2954 and comes a decade after Cloud Imperium first revealed Squadron 42’s existence.

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Squadron 42 should launch in 2026, assuming no further delays. Cloud Imperium says it’s been feature-finished for a year, and the dev team has spent the last 12 months “polishing and optimizing” so it meets player expectations (thanks, Eurogamer).

The Squadron 42 gameplay trailer shows off a fair amount of the game’s prologue, along with some basic ship flying, a bit of out-of-cockpit exploration, and some of the voice cast. It’s packed with recognizable names as well, including Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Andy Serkis, and Sophie Wu, and that’s not even all of the main cast.

The general reaction on YouTube was fairly positive. Despite a few complaints about the slow nature of Squadron 42’s opening, most fans who left a comment were impressed with the scale and the quality, with a few equally impressed by the star power in the cast.

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For the money Cloud Imperium raised over the years, polished with a stellar cast is the least they can do. Between crowdfunding and selling off in-game ships that you can’t really use much yet, the studio has raised hundreds of millions of dollars since first announcing Star Citizen in 2012, and that game still has no release date yet.

This article first appeared on Video Games on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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