Cloud Imperium Games has pushed the release of Star Citizen's single-player campaign, Squadron 42, to Q2 2027, with Chris Roberts citing Grand Theft Auto 6 as the reason. Cloud Imperium Games has officially postponed the release of Squadron 42, the standalone single-player campaign set in the Star Citizen universe. Originally planned to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, the game is now scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of 2027. Dodging the Grand Theft Auto 6 Spotlight In a recent update to the community, Cloud Imperium Games CEO and co-founder Chris Roberts explained that the shift in release timing is intended to prevent the space simulator from competing against Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6. At CitizenCon 2024, we announced we would ship in 2026. Our plan was to release in Q4 around IAE. But much like the rest of the industry, there is no way I want to launch my spiritual successor to Wing Commander, a game that has had twelve years of blood, sweat and tears invested into it (we started Squadron 42 development in 2014 as 2013 was opening studios, hiring people and getting the Hangar module out for Star Citizen) launching into the attention buzz saw of GTA 6. Roberts acknowledged that while Grand Theft Auto 6 is not scheduled to release on PC this November, the media landscape and content creators will likely be consumed entirely by Rockstar's title, leaving little room for competing projects to gain traction. Preview Plans and Long Development Road To soften the blow for fans, Roberts shared that a select group of long-time content creators and early backers will get hands-on access to Squadron 42 this October. The studio intends to use that window to share further updates regarding release milestones and nail down a concrete launch date shortly after. Squadron 42 features an ensemble Hollywood cast including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, and Andy Serkis. Both Squadron 42 and the broader Star Citizen project have experienced multiple timeline revisions over their crowdfunding history, which has now crossed more than $1 billion in total funding since its initial Kickstarter campaign.
