Summary
Squadron 42, Cloud Imperium Games' planned episodic single-player game set in theStar Citizenuniverse, has some fans expecting a release on platforms other than just PC. A current job listing posted by theStar Citizendeveloper seeks out talented people with experience developing games on consoles, which could point toSquadron 42as a potential third-party game for PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo.
First announced in 2012,Star Citizenis the most successful publicly funded game in history,passing a new crowdfunding milestonein 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.
Now, a new job listing from Cloud Imperium Games for a cinematic animator has some fans believing thatSquadron 42’s releasemay 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 forSquadron 42to 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 forSquadron 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 ofStar Citizen, coupled withSquadron 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, asmultiple past delays inSquadron 42’s betain 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 announcedin 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.
