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- Squadron 42, Star Citizen’s single-player campaign, has a release window of 2026.
- 12 years of mismanagement, ever-growing scope, microtransactions, and lack of a release have left a bad aftertaste,
- The game is still far from completion and filled with bugs; it has lost all the hype it once had.
What’s a game stuck so deep in development hell that you’re convinced it’s never coming out? Beyond Good and Evil 2? Star Citizen? Honestly, the trend of revealing projects way too early just to create false hype for something that can never be presented on time is killing the concept of excitement of gaming.
Nothing good ever comes of it. The momentary eagerness is eventually replaced with even greater despair and the inevitable disappointment because the expectations you’ve established over the years can never come true. An extremely delayed project is 9/10 times a disaster waiting to happen, and I fear Star Citizen will be the same.
Why it matters: Even after 12 years and $700 million, Star Citizen isn’t complete, and even Squadron 42 seems a mess. Even if it manages the 2026 release, the hype is gone.
Squadron 42 Finally Has A Possible Release Date
Remember that space game announced 12 years ago, one that has raised an impossible $700 Million yet refuses to release? Well, it seems fans finally might get to see it come out now, albeit partially. Star Citizen has a single-player campaign titled Squadron 42 that might be released (not that) soon.
In a recent presentation, Cloud Imperium Games head Chris Roberts discussed Star Citizen’s single-player campaign, Squadron 42.
Its launch was told to be sometime in 2026, and a prologue trailer was shown. It introduced the campaign’s lineup of Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamil, Gary Oldman, Henry Cavill, Gillian Anderson, and more.
What baffles me is that even after 12 years, there’s no concrete release date. “Sometime in 2026” is highly vague, and there’s no confirmation yet if this will suffer any more delays. But I’ll be honest with you: My excitement for the game is long gone; I no longer care.
12 Years And Broken Dreams
I vividly remember the day I came across Star Citizen. A vast space to explore in what seemed like a dream come true for a sci-fi fan, I was practically blown away. This was something way beyond the scope of the gaming I had known so far. I didn’t think a game like this was even possible.
Looking back now, I should’ve listened to the younger me. Had I said, “It’s not probable” back then and moved on, I would’ve spared ‘me of today’ years of agony and disappointment. I was once the greatest fan of Star Citizen and, by extension, Squadron 42, but I’ve witnessed its follies firsthand over the last 12 years.
It all started as a humble crowdfunded project, but it grew a little too big for its own good. People were so excited about the prospect that they eagerly invested in it, and CIG saw the ludicrous opportunity.
Every year, Star Citizen surpassed its funding milestones by a mile, and instead of a release date, it got an even bigger and more “ambitious” scope.
As if the perpetual agony wasn’t enough, Star Citizen started demanding an absurd amount for in-game purchases, too. A game that owes its entire existence to crowdfunding but is still in an Alpha state with no release date in sight feels it has somehow earned the right to issue a ridiculous $48,000 pack of ships.
All Excitement Is Long Gone
If you ask me, its crowdfunding was so successful that the company behind it didn’t want to stop at just a “standard game.” It kept raising the bar with promises of greatness, only to never decide on a specific stopping point. Because of this, the game is still a broken mess, nowhere near the finish line.
Star Citizen’s massive scope aside, Squadron 42 was supposed to be a limited single-player campaign. Yet it remains as unfinished and broken as the main game. Something that crashes twice in a trailer is the epitome of a bad product. It’s practically screaming, “I’m an unfinished mess.” I’ll be surprised if it even makes the 2026 release.
Star Citizen demo crashes LIVE on stage during presentation
byu/Neddo_Flanders inLivestreamFail
Star Citizen and Squadron 42 were destined to be victims of too grand ambitions. Now, in the eyes of fans, they are a blatant and elaborate scam with countless glitches and immersion-breaking bugs that preyed upon people’s feelings.
Instead of expanding the game’s scope to impossible heights, CIG should’ve set a proper goal and worked towards polishing it to perfection. Alas, with how mismanaged Star Citizen’s 12 unfortunate years were, Squadron 42 has lost all the excitement and anticipation people once held for it. What a shame.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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