Star Citizen spin-off Squadron 42 will release in 2026 – here’s an hour-long gameplay teaser

Cloud Imperium has dropped an extended gameplay reveal of its upcoming Star Citizen spin-off, Squadron 42, which will release in 2026.

As this weekend’s CitizenCon 2954, thousands of fans descended on Manchester UK to find out what’s coming up in the medium- to long-future of CI’s space sim, Star Citizen. And as part of that showcase, fans were treated to a gameplay trailer of the star-studded Squadron 42.

Below is an hour-long taste of what’s to expect:

“Last year we announced that Squadron 42 is feature complete, so what’s the team been doing since?” CEO Chris Roberts said.

“Given the scale and ambition of Squadron, our teams have been focused on polishing and optimising to ensure the game meets all the high standards that I have, the team has, and you guys have.”

Roberts also revealed that the story will take “anywhere” from 30 to 40 hours to complete, and confirmed he was “confident” it would be released sometime in 2026.

Squadron 42 boasts a stellar cast that includes Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, Liam Cunningham, Andy Serkis, Mark Strong, Ben Mendelson, and Sophie Wu, amongst others.

The single-player, story-based Squadron 42 was announced way back in 2014, but has been delayed multiple times.

If you fancy seeing for yourself why Star Citizen has raised an astonishing $700m in crowdfunding, sign up now to get the CitizenCon 2954 “exclusive starter pack”, available from now until 31st October.

Earlier this year, Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) was ordered to pay more than £27k to a disabled former employee who brought a discrimination claim against the company.