Posted in: Cloud Imperium Games, Games, Video Games | Tagged: Cloud Imperium Games, Squadron 42, star citizen

Squadron 42 Delayed Indefinitely After Missing Beta Date

Published Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:40:01 -0600

Last updated Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:40:29 -0600

Cloud Imperium Games Roberts Space Industries have apparently pushed Squadron 42 back indefinitely after missing a key date. In a lengthy letter from the chairman of the company, Chris Roberts, the company basically amended their roadmap calendar for all projects and removed the game from their plans for the time being. If you're not familiar with this one, the game is a single-player campaign set within the Star Citizen universe. And much like the game it's based on, was teased years ago and has been in development forever. (Remember, Star Citizen technically hasn't been "released", they've just been updating the Alpha for years, and STILL have no confirmed date for the game to be complete.) So hear this news, while frustrating, seems to be the norm for this company. We have a snippet of the letter below for you to read about the game's development moving forward.

As I said earlier this year, Squadron 42 will be done when it is done, and will not be released just to make a date, but instead only when all the technology and content is finished, the game is polished, and it plays great. I am not willing to compromise the development of a game I believe in with all my heart and soul, and I feel it would be a huge disservice to all the team members that have poured so much love and hard work into Squadron 42 if we rushed it out or cut corners to put it in the hands of everyone who is clamoring for it. Over the past few years, I've seen more than a few eagerly awaited titles release before they were bug free and fully polished. This holiday season is no exception. This is just another reminder to me of why I am so lucky to have such a supportive community, as well as a development model that is funded by people that care about the best game possible, and not about making their quarterly numbers or the big holiday shopping season.

For most games it is typical to not even announce the project until about 12 months out and only start building awareness with marketing 6 months before launch. The issues with showing gameplay, locations or assets on a narratively driven game this early are twofold. First, a marketing campaign can only last so long and second, there is only so much of the gameplay that we can show before release as we want you to experience a really engrossing story. If we show the non-spoiler gameplay now, that's prime footage and gameplay that could have been used closer to release. It is better to treat Squadron 42 like a beautifully wrapped present under the tree that you are excited to open on Christmas Day, not knowing exactly what is inside, other than that it's going to be great.

Because of this I have decided that it is best to not show Squadron 42 gameplay publicly, nor discuss any release date until we are closer to the home stretch and have high confidence in the remaining time needed to finish the game to the quality we want.

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