Squadron 42
Tracking Squadron 42 — the single-player campaign from Cloud Imperium Games
Q2 2027 Release Window
No specific release date has been announced by CIG. Q2 2027 is their stated target window, set in the August 27, 2026 Letter from the Chairman after the 2026 target was dropped to avoid launching alongside GTA 6.
What is it?
Squadron 42 is a single-player, story-driven space game set in the same universe as Star Citizen. Developed by Cloud Imperium Games, it follows a new UEE Navy recruit through a cinematic military campaign — think Wing Commander for a new generation.
The game features a star-studded cast including Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, and Andy Serkis, with full motion-capture performances throughout.
Unlike Star Citizen's persistent multiplayer universe, Squadron 42 is a standalone, offline-capable campaign. CIG is targeting a Q2 2027 release, moved from 2026 in the August 2026 Letter from the Chairman — no specific date has been announced.
“…without victory there can be no survival!”
Latest Update
In its October 12 This Week in Star Citizen, CIG said around 140 community members attended the Squadron 42 hands-on event in Manchester. Attendees played Squadron 42 for five hours, then spent an extra hour in a unique story chapter aboard an adrift Xi’an ship. CIG gave no release date, said photos from the weekend are coming soon, and pointed players to the trailer and the Steam wishlist.
Read the full update →“I held the line.”
The phrase long-time backers use while waiting for Squadron 42 — honored on stage at CitizenCon 2953, when CIG declared the game feature-complete. Chris Roberts returned to it in the August 2026 Letter from the Chairman, thanking the backers who took crowdfunding past one billion dollars: “All of you that have held the line.”
Squadron 42 is coming — Star Citizen is playable right now.
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Explore
The latest Squadron 42 updates from official CIG sources — monthly reports, CitizenCon reveals, milestone announcements, newest first.
Read the timeline →Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, Andy Serkis, and more — all ten confirmed cast members with roles and official sources.
Meet the cast →Every official CIG statement on the Squadron 42 release window, in one place. Delayed to Q2 2027.
Track the date →Single-player or multiplayer? One purchase or two? The key differences explained from official CIG sources.
See the differences →Every official Squadron 42 video from Cloud Imperium Games — trailers, gameplay reveals, CitizenCon presentations, and cinematic clips.
Watch the videos →What is Squadron 42? Who's in the cast? When does it release? Is it included with Star Citizen? Answers from official CIG communications only.
Read the FAQ →Seamless transitions, AI squad companions, zero-G traversal, and a living NPC crew — every confirmed gameplay system, sourced from official CIG reports.
See the systems →The CitizenCon 2953 cinematic that gave this site its name — where the backer community's long wait for Squadron 42 was honored on stage.
Watch the video →The alien enemy of Squadron 42 — who the Vanduul are, their ships, and their role in the campaign, from official CIG lore and reveals.
Know the enemy →The UEE Navy unit at the centre of Squadron 42 — its in-universe history, its ships, and the recruitment line behind the campaign.
Meet the unit →Squadron 42's setting — a white-dwarf star system home to Fortune's Cross station and The Coil, revealed in the Q3 2025 subscriber newsletter.
Explore the system →Thinking about buying in before Squadron 42 ships? What you get today, what's still coming, and how the two games are sold.
Read the breakdown →Every factual claim on this page is verified against official Cloud Imperium Games sources. Dates and figures are checked against the primary RSI Comm-Link or page linked below — not third-party trackers.
'Bishop's Speech' — Admiral Ernst Bishop (Gary Oldman) urging the UEE Senate to commit to war against the Vanduul — is the opening cinematic of Squadron 42, debuted at CitizenCon 2015 and published on the official Star Citizen YouTube channel on October 10, 2015 (4:13).
Gary Oldman plays Admiral Ernst Bishop in Squadron 42.
Squadron 42 was declared feature-complete in October 2023, announced at CitizenCon 2953 — all planned gameplay features implemented, project moved to polishing.
'I Held the Line' is the 26-minute Squadron 42 gameplay showcase released at CitizenCon 2953 (October 2023), alongside the feature-complete announcement.