Star Citizen's Squadron 42 Campaign Won't Release In 2020, But It's In The "Close Out" Phase

Star Citizen's single-player campaign, Squadron 42, is not going to launch in 2020. Cloud Imperium Games boss Chris Roberts said in a blog post that the game will be done "when it is done," and that won't be in 2020.

"I know everyone would like a definitive date on when Squadron 42 will be done but the best answer I can give you is that it will be done when it is done, and that will not be this year," he said.

While there is no release date yet, Cloud Imperium has launched a new YouTube series called The Briefing Room that promises to provide updates on Squadron 42's ongoing development. Additionally, the studio will share more details on how the development is progressing beginning in December with "much more in-depth visual dives into what we've done and features and content we can share without spoilers."

"I want Squadron 42 to be finished and played by all of you, more than anyone," Roberts said. "I can tell you that the team is in 'close out' mode and we are actively looking to burn down our remaining tasks and focus on polishing gameplay. It is going to be a game that is worth the wait, and one that the team and I, and you the community who supported its creation, will be proud of."

Roberts has very high hopes for Squadron 42, saying he is aiming for it to be the "pinnacle of the single-player story space adventure."

"Much like Star Citizen, Squadron 42 is how I always dreamed of being immersed in a riveting story where I was the star of my own huge space epic," Roberts said. "Back when I was building the Wing Commander series, there were always technical limitations, so I had to pick and choose my battles. But with Squadron 42 I can finally immerse you as a player into your own adventure to rival any big budget movie you might see on the big screen, interacting and forming relationships with characters played by some of your favorite actors and navigating battles and set pieces that would make any Star Wars film proud."

Squadron 42 features a long list of very famous actors, including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, John Rhys-Davies, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis, Ben Mendelsohn, Liam Cunningham, and Mark Strong.

Roberts went on to say that the protracted nature of Squadron 42's development is a direct result of the expanded scope and ambition of the project.

"I could have stuck to the original, much simpler game that was proposed in 2012, but with the increase in scope for Star Citizen I felt I needed to build a single-player game to rival Star Citizen's multiplayer ambition," he said. "With the amount of love and effort that has been poured into Squadron 42, we aren't going to release it until it's fully polished, plays great, and packs an emotional wallop."

This is noted difference compared to Star Citizen, which has been released in chunks that come out about every three months.

The entire Star Citizen project has raised more than $300 million in funding. There are currently five studios and more than 640 people working on the project around the world.