Star Citizen's Squadron 42 May Be Coming to More Platforms

Summary

Squadron 42 may be released on consoles besides PC, hinting at potential third-party deals for PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo.
Despite a lack of a set release date, fans speculate a possible 2026 launch, with concerns about multiple past delays impacting development.
A recent job listing at Cloud Imperium Games seeks console game developers, sparking hope for non-PC gamers but also raising concerns about potential delays.

Squadron 42, Cloud Imperium Games’ planned episodic single-player game set in the Star Citizen universe, has some fans expecting a release on platforms other than just PC. A current job listing posted by the Star Citizen developer seeks out talented people with experience developing games on consoles, which could point to Squadron 42 as a potential third-party game for PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo.

First announced in 2012, Star Citizen is the most successful publicly funded game in history, passing a new crowdfunding milestone in April of $800 million raised so far. The space combat and trading simulation game saw its early access release in late 2017, but it still has no window for its full launch despite the massive support provided by its loyal player base.

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Now, a new job listing from Cloud Imperium Games for a cinematic animator has some fans believing that Squadron 42‘s release may be further off than they had previously thought, yet hopeful about what the future may bring. The portion of the job listing that’s causing the biggest stir is listed under its candidate expectations, which state that the company’s ideal animator possesses professional experience “in game animation development, ideally on current/next-gen consoles.” While that could be good news for non-PC gamers who have been hoping for a chance to dive into the studio’s more story-heavy outer space game, it’s also causing some alarm, as the potential for Squadron 42 to receive a multi-platform release has some fans expecting even more delays in its development.

Squadron 42 Could be Coming to Consoles

There is no current release date for Squadron 42, and the closest thing fans have is a comment from last year stating that the studio is eyeing a 2026 release. Despite that remark, the elongated early access period of Star Citizen, coupled with Squadron 42‘s originally planned launch more than 10 years ago, is leaving some fans skeptical. The full release of both games isn’t the only incident of a slower-than-expected development cycle, as multiple past delays in Squadron 42‘s beta in 2020 led to the beta being shelved indefinitely.

The job listing could also hint at good things in the company’s financial outlook. Layoffs at Cloud Imperium Games were announced in late November 2024. While the initial figures in that report stated that only 12 employees had been let go, equating to about one percent of the company’s total workforce, past rounds of layoffs had been stretched out across multiple weeks, which had some fans concerned about the developer’s financial future.