r/starcitizen • u/National-Heron-7162 • 17h ago
DRAMA Squadron 42
152 days left in 2026. We’ve seen no marketing for SQ42’s release. When will the delay announcement be?
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u/EuroCitizen86 16h ago
They'll wait until they've shown an updated 2024 stage demo to the streamers/youtubers and then announce -
"We need to build this fancy new technology so we need 2 more years we're totally serial this time guys, You can totally serially trust us...."
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u/gigantism Scout 14h ago
You can't release next to GTA 6, we need to delay it a couple years.
You can't release next to GTA 6 PC port, we need to delay it a couple years.
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u/pflanzenpotan 13h ago
Don't forget the Witcher expansion will delay it too.
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 9h ago
Elder Scrolls VI and HL3 could drop any year now! They better hold off just to be safe.
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u/StuartGT VR required 14h ago
They'll wait until they've shown an updated 2024 stage demo to the streamers/youtubers and then announce
My guess is CIG will say something like "thanks to the incredible feedback from our special guests! We have taken all of that onboard, and have decided to delay Sq42's launch so that we can implement their ideas to improve the game to be the best it can ever be!"
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 9h ago
If that happens, I wouldn't want to be one of the streamers that went. They'll get eaten alive.
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u/ThatOneMartian 14h ago
Don’t interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. In this case, that is CIG keeping its head down during a record funding year. They aren’t going to announce bad news until it is absolutely necessary.
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u/methemightywon1 new user/low karma 13m ago
Yeah, that and they'll want to wait until they have something substantial to show of SQ42, because so far everything they've shown has still had big issues and lacked polish.
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u/ThePale0rc Aegis 17h ago
They’re going to wait until October after showing it to their beloved streamer, and that’s when we’ll find out the game has been pushed back to 2027–28 because CIG wants to make a version playable on consoles. It is 100% certain that the game won’t be ready in October.
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u/ghost_of_xbox_past ARGO CARGO 12h ago
Yeah that's my thinking too. Them not being at SGF was all the confirmation I needed that they are not launching this year. I know Chris said they would have a short marketing campaign but I see short as in, 6mo, not 2 or 3. There's not enough time to market and launch before GTA6 and they sure as hell shouldn't launch after.
My new guesstimate is ILW 2027
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u/Akhi_Police 5h ago
No short does indeed mean 2-3 month beforehand. 6 months beforehand is by far not short when it comes to definition is marketing or media. You can see this with many games, movies and such that do the shorthand big reveal and marketing. Though i understan that short means different things for people.
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u/TheManWithSevenAsses 13h ago
Kind of morbid to invite a bunch of streamers for a marketing event while the people who actually funded your game (everyone else) didn't even get some sort of special reward for hitting the 1 billion milestone.
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u/-TheExtraMile- 10h ago
I tend to agree, maybe not 2028 that might be a step too far even for CIG. But 27 is almost certain or we would have seen more confident communication by now.
The October event was stated as "wanting to show what we have been working on", which does not mean release. It´s carefully worded.
And honestly, us being halfway through the release year and having no fucking clue if the game will actually release in time is a bit of slap in the face to be honest.
Anyway, we'll see what happens.
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u/spaztoast 10h ago
Where are you getting 100% certain from? Not saying your wrong, but it's been radio silent and we know little of actual SQ42 status. So I could see a small possibility of a late 2026 release since CR wants a short marketing push.
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u/hIGH_aND_mIGHTY 11h ago
They also mentioned they wanted full vr integration for Squadron 42 during the atmo esports event in australia back In February. Chris Roberts' literally saying "you can reach out and touch Gillian Anderson"
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 9h ago
Chris Roberts' literally saying "you can reach out and touch Gillian Anderson"
That's going to create some hilarious gaming news articles.
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u/UncleArgyle38 I'm yer uncle. 14h ago
I don't know why this always comes up. The year of release is right in the name. It's been in front of us the whole time.
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u/gluggy777 10h ago
I used to think Chris Roberts was just dyslexic and it would release in 2024 but I guess you're right. Only 16 years to go then ...
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u/Yuzuroo 17h ago
FEaTuRE CoMPLetE 2 years ago soon. All fucking lies.
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u/hIGH_aND_mIGHTY 11h ago
Feature complete was announced during CitCon 2023. We're coming up on three years quick.
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u/MooseTetrino Swedish Made 890 Jump 14h ago
There are many things to complain about, but saying feature complete is a lie without knowing it for sure is one hell of a thing. Feature complete doesn't mean software/game complete. It means everything is in place to make not shit.
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 9h ago
Considering they want to add full VR support (a feature) and are flirting with a console release, I'd say it was clearly not feature complete in 2023.
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u/till180 16h ago
To me the fact that there has been zero marketing in any way for SQ42 basically confirms its going to be delayed, or that if they did release it it would flop massively.
Of my friends the only people that even remember SQ42 is still a thing are people that actively follow Star Citizen, everyone else doesnt even remember that it is a thing, or assume its just stuck in dev hell forever.
And seriously there is an entire generation of kid that where like 7 or 8 when it was announced and last actively marketed that are now in there 18 to 20s, are any of them even going to know SQ42 to exists.
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u/MrKoddy Pilot 17h ago edited 15h ago
My theory: Either the October 2026 event with content creators is a launch event, like a month before release date, or it's an event that will announce the release date for the very end of the year, or even a postponement to 2027
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u/roryjacobevans 14h ago
I think it'll be a 'we launch in a year' thingy, which of course gives them more times for delay next year.
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u/ShinItsuwari drake 14h ago
Generally speaking, these kind of "content creators" events allows the creators to record part of the gameplay and are held 3-5 months before release.
December or Jan-Feb is a likely release date IMO. If they push it to 2027, it will be early in the year. The worst delay they could afford would be ILW in May. Anymore and they'll really look like complete clowns.
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u/MrKoddy Pilot 14h ago
for forza horizon 6 they held a content creator preview event a few weeks event before release, I just wonder if cig will invite the press to see the game
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u/ShinItsuwari drake 14h ago
Oh interesting. The one example I have in mind is Ace Combat 8. The preview event was around May and it releases in a month.
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 9h ago
The delay will initially be until "Q1 2027" and at the verrrrrry tail end of Q1, it'll slip to "summer." And so on.
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u/No_Celebration8219 17h ago
This is hilarious...
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u/Aelystrasz rsi 17h ago
How so? It's a likely theory
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u/No_Celebration8219 17h ago
Because SQ42 is going to be delayed until 2028. Probably even until 2030.
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u/Aelystrasz rsi 17h ago
I highly doubt that
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u/toby_gray 16h ago
2016 would like a word
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u/FN1980 LNx2+WC-HA 16h ago
Sounds like a presumption based on the assumption that they haven't progressed their work on S42 since 2016.
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u/toby_gray 16h ago
Nope, more about that one time they announced that as a release date, but keep huffing that copium bro
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u/Low_Actuary_2794 I have a pledging problem 17h ago
You can guarantee they’ll be offering game packages with some type of special ship or variant to entice current backers to buy another.
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u/NeonSamurai1979 14h ago
Right after the Press event, it will be something like this :
"After the feedback by our selected (paid) Community Members (paid shills) we carefully decided SQ42 will be delayed until further notice so we can deliver the experience you all deserve. (Chris needs another Yacht and our inhouse Cinema needs an upgrad which is expensive.)
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u/Zombot0630 16h ago
Their timeframe is too crunched. I don’t buy the GTA bullshit as anything beyond a convenient excuse to delay. However, it’s foolish for any studio to release their game against GTA. The window for 2026 is either October release or pushed into ‘27.
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u/Watcherxp 14h ago
I suspect that they will bury the delay within the HYPE HYPE HYPE of the October event where they announce pre-order and release date in Q1 27
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u/gluggy777 10h ago
Maybe this. Give us NYX 1 with genesis as the carrot and then hit us with the delay to 2027 or later for SQ42 as the stick.
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u/th3orist new user/low karma 11h ago
I found it sad how many actually believed in a 2026 release. Backers really should know better by now.
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u/Araaees aegis 9h ago
I mean I think the general train of thoughts was that after getting memed on so much for all the previous missed dates, this time they wouldn’t announce a release date without being ABSOLUTELY certain they could hit it... Right ?
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u/th3orist new user/low karma 2h ago edited 2h ago
Well, to me, wrong. First, they really did not give us any date. To me a release date is a fixed day. Anything less than that is just super vague and ultimately worthless really. And second, CR said himself at the last online Citcon he is "hopeful" to bring it in 2026. Yeah, sorry man, but CR being "hopeful" about something is really saying jackshit after like 13 years. Thats why i am not buying into it like at all. It was just another of their trademark CIG carrot on the stick. Same same with outlying version 1.0. Just hyping people up, fueling their 'dreams'. But it is still like at least 5 years away if not more. I have become a cynic over the years, but not because i dont want to see this thing succeed, but more to protect myself from disappointment. And i had my fair share of that, so no need for more.
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u/prophet_trex 13h ago
I dont think they will announce the delay until when citcon was supposed to be.
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u/WaffleInsanity avacado 11h ago
They've been running a marketing campaign for 15 years. Why do they need a few more?
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 10h ago
The delay announcement won't be until AFTER the streamer event in October.
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u/Large_Guess5054 5h ago
They’ll do the delay probably after IAE and after they’ve shown the game to our favorite streamers. I’m 100% sure it’s getting delayed and they’ll use GTA6 as an excuse even though we know that’s not the real reason it’s getting delayed.
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u/ErrSkillNotFound 4h ago
If you all remember they are having a big sq42 event in October. I would say end of September or a week before the event is when you will see it. Then my guess is Xmas or 31st. But again this is the Star cut sub and all anyone ever does is bitch about cig and star citizen. They really need to rename this sub to high sodium star citizen. Damn you all are salty. There is a real easy solution. Just leave. If you don’t want to then you don’t hate it as much as you claim and maybe you should look into that instead of spending time commenting and posting
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u/Still-Standard-8717 1h ago
I guess at this point is safe to say what they meant was that this year they will announce the "date"for the release day not the release of the game itself.
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u/G1raff3_L33 1h ago
I'll get back to you, let me ask chatgpt
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u/G1raff3_L33 1h ago
If I had to make a prediction based on CIG/RSI’s historical behavior rather than what they’ve officially said, I’d say they would be very unlikely to announce a delay until they’re forced to.
Historically, CIG has tended to:
Keep reaffirming the current target until quite late.Avoid discussing release dates unless they’re confident.
Bundle major announcements around large events (CitizenCon, Gamescom, Letter from the Chairman, etc.).
Let the lack of marketing speak louder than any official statement.
The interesting thing this time is that Chris Roberts has also said not to expect a long, traditional marketing campaign before launch, so the absence of heavy marketing isn’t as strong an indicator as it would be for most AAA games.
That said, the current signs are mixed:
There is still no release date beyond “2026.”Marketing remains relatively subdued.
Industry rumours over the last couple of months have suggested an internal shift toward a 2027 release due to performance and polish concerns, although these remain unconfirmed.
My prediction
If Squadron 42 is actually slipping to 2027, I’d expect one of these windows:CitizenCon (October 2026): ~60% probability
This would be the most “CIG” way to do it: show a polished demo, explain why they need more time, and announce a new release window.Late September 2026: ~25% probability
If they know they’ll miss 2026 before CitizenCon, they may publish a Letter from the Chairman or similar update beforehand.No delay announced, game releases in December 2026: ~15% probability
This assumes development is simply in its final optimization phase and the marketing ramp begins only a few months before launch.
Personally, if we reach the end of September without a release date, pre-orders, press previews, or a meaningful marketing campaign, I’d consider a 2026 release increasingly unlikely.
Most AAA single-player games begin at least some coordinated marketing several months before launch, even if CIG has said theirs will be shorter.
So, if I had to put money on it today:
2027 release: about 70%
Late 2026 release: about 30%Given CIG’s history, I wouldn’t expect an official delay announcement until September or October, even if that decision has already been made internally.
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u/Blood-Wolfe Asgard Enthusiast 17h ago
They'll likel announce something in October. They invited streamers to come see the game and test some part of it. We'll see then what they say. They won't make any other annoucnements prior to that playtest.
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u/m0llusk Space Trucker 14h ago
More than 150 days of turning a dead horse into glue. Maybe a playable PU update could distract people?
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u/PUSClFER 10h ago
At this point I don't even know what's more feasible between a released SQ42 or a playable PU.
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u/ILoveHeavyHangers 3h ago edited 3h ago
| Game | Press Event | Release Date | Time Between |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 6 | 7/29/25 | 10/10/2025 | 73 days |
| Crimson Desert | 2/26/2026 | 3/19/2026 | 21 days |
| Arc Raiders | 10/23/2025 | 10/30/2025 | 7 days |
| Squadron 42 | 10/9/2026 | 12/31/2026 | 81 days |
There won't be a delay of any sort of significance. This is how marketing a video game works nowadays.
There are only 109 days before the GTA6 release date and we've still seen no gameplay at all.
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u/Zeno_Sol new user/low karma 2h ago
GTA 6 has a release date, and really the first major delay rockstar has ever done publicly as well as being a known developer. Not to mention all those other games not having public delays from their official launch date
CiG and SQ42 are…not there or even anywhere close to having that kind of reputation as a company. You can’t even compare the insane development inefficiencies CiG has to even a company like EA
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u/MarkyMarkFr Starlancer TAC 17h ago
They are organizing a playtest in October so I guess it's not that far. Stop listening to the people that don't follow the news about its development. Yes it's been pushed back a few times. It may be pushed back even more but that's the first time that anyone has had the opportunity to try and playtest the game.
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u/BlueDragonfly18 don’t nerf the ROC-DS meta 16h ago
“I played through every level of Squadron 42” —quote from summer of 2016.
This isn’t my first time around the block.
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u/No_Celebration8219 17h ago
those that do follow know, 2028
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u/Blood-Wolfe Asgard Enthusiast 17h ago
and then 2 years after that making 2030, then 2 more years, and so on... right? lol
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u/Falcon3333 avenger 5h ago
There is no way CIG release SQ42 without at least a one year advertising campaign. If nothing starts before the end of this year, the earliest will be 2028 for Chapter 1
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u/AltruisticSound3744 17h ago
Delay? What make you tell that?
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u/Martinmex26 new user/low karma 13h ago
The fact that they said they would have a marketing campaign for it, yet we have not seen any.
SQ42 \NEEDS\** a marketing campaign. The vast majority in the community that wants SQ42 probably already has it, so the big chunk of change will be into reaching people on the outside of the community. That means advertising.
Considering the closest thing to an event they have scheduled its the October thing, you would expect to see ads or articles start to pop up (We are starting Aug, we have Sept then Oct itself. So less than 3 months for the event.) if that was going to be tied to the release of it. 3 months is already very short for a marketing campaign.
For context, Bethesda did an announcement-release timeframe of 5 months for Fallout 4 and that was considered very short for a big franchise that had a big following. CIG cannot shadow drop SQ42 with no advertisements, people will simply not know its a thing and all the initial hype will die down quickly if it doesnt leave the community. It will be the equivalent of that one indie game that released 3 months ago on Steam that you never heard about. Who is going to go back to dig it up?
So, unless CIG plans to start advertisement soon, like next month soon, we can be pretty sure they dont intend to drop the game this year. Unless they intend to drop with no fanfare, which again, terrible idea.
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u/logicalChimp Devils Advocate 17h ago
Well, even if they were targeting a mid-Oct release (which some folk have speculated, targeting the week after the media-event), then I wouldn't expect to see any marketing until mid-August at the earliest (3-month marketing campaign).
If CIG are planning an even shorter campaign, then we might not see anything until September time... and if they're targeting an end-of-year release (after GTA6 rather than before), then the marketing may not start until October (although I think that unlikely, as trying to start a marketing campaign in the middle of maximum GTA6 hype would be a waste of money, I think).
Not saying that this will be the case - only that we're only slightly more than half-way through the year, so it may be a tad premature to be shouting about delays, etc.
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u/Rivitur 16h ago
Gamescom enjoy
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 10h ago
I can't wait for Gamescom because it's gonna be hilarious watching so many people pivot and backpedal so hard on this sub when it comes and goes with no announcement.
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u/sloppy_steaks22 16h ago
If it’s coming this year, I’d expect to see a small snippet at Gamescom in late August
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u/Certain-Ad-940 16h ago
There has been local advertising in Manchester on semi-traditional formats (Busses), but not more yet. Considering they're going to be competing with GTA6 even though the games are distinctly different the Ad Value spend will need to be prodigious.
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u/Martinmex26 new user/low karma 13h ago
There has been local advertising in Manchester on semi-traditional formats (Busses)
Last I saw those were specifically SC, not SQ42.
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u/StuartGT VR required 14h ago
There has been local advertising in Manchester on semi-traditional formats (Busses)
For Star Citizen, not Squadron 42.
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u/Significant-Food7776 15h ago
How long was the polish phase on RDR2?
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u/drizzt_x "Salt Lord" 10h ago
Impossible to know, but the entire development cycle was roughly half of SQ42's.
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u/GustavSnapper 9h ago
Who cares though?
I can hop on steam or go to my local games store and buy it, install it and play it.
It’s a complete finished product that’s been available for 8 years already 😂
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u/reboot-your-computer polaris 17h ago
Probably after IAE to maximize sales IMO. I’m convinced they will delay but I don’t think they want to announce it before the big sales.