Chris Roberts had already prepared his excuse for this months ago; now the delay is actually happening.
It’s a delay that was coming.In 2025, Star Citizen’s lead developer Chris Robertswas still confidently sticking to a 2026 release date for Squadron 42. Scheduled to follow right afterGTA 6, the single-player campaign of this ambitious sci-fi project was set to be the biggest release of the year.
Just under a year later, however, he was already backtracking.“There’s a certain thing in the industry that we—like everyone else—have to be mindful of, so I can’t guarantee that 100 percent,” he said in May 2026. With that, Roberts was already hinting that the release of GTA 6 could get in his way.Now Roberts confirms that this premonition has come true.
Squadron 42 Isn’t Supposed to End Up in GTA’s “Circular Saw”
Squadron 42 won’t be released until the second quarter of 2027. Roberts explains this in a “Letter from the Chairman« regarding progress on Star Citizen.
Our original plan called for the fourth quarter [of 2026] […]. But like the rest of the industry, I have no desire whatsoever to release my spiritual successor to Wing Commander […] right into the attention buzz saw of GTA6. [literally: “launching into the attention buzz saw of GTA6”]
Even though GTA 6 isn’t coming out for PC this November, virtually all media outlets and most content creators will be focused on it, leaving little room for coverage of other titles. We looked at release windows for early 2027 and decided that the second quarter would be the better time to release Squadron 42.
On October 9 and 10, 2026, however, some of the earliest backers and content creators are set to get the chance to play Squadron 42 ahead of its release. Further information about the release is also expected to follow during this time.
The surprise over yet another delay is likely to be limited. Squadron 42 was originally scheduled to be released in 2014. The release was subsequently delayed several times until Roberts decided in 2020 to hold off on further announcements for the time being.
At CitizenCon 2024, 2026 was finally announced as the release window for the first episode of Squadron 42. We’ll see if the latest delay to 2027 turns out to be the last.
