Star Citizen
Star Citizen is a multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation video game currently under development by Cloud Imperium Games for Windows. An extended retry of unrealized plans for Freelancer, Star Citizen is led by director Chris Roberts. The game was announced in 2012 and was followed by a successful Kickstarter campaign which drew over US$2 million. However, after more than a decade in development, no projected date for the end of early access in Star Citizen is currently given. In August 2025, Roberts said in an interview that Star Citizen is aiming for a release in 2027 or 2028, while its single player spin-off, Squadron 42, is aiming for a 2026 release.
In 2013, Cloud Imperium Games began releasing parts of the game, known as "modules", to provide players with the opportunity to experience gameplay features prior to release. The "Persistent Universe" module was made available for testing to pre-purchasers in 2015 with Star Citizen being later released in early access in 2017. It continues to receive updates. Star Citizen has garnered considerable criticism during its long production process, both for the lack of a clear date for the end of early access and for the challenges backers have faced in getting a refund after abandoning the project. The launch of the game was originally anticipated for 2014, but has been repeatedly delayed.
After the initial Kickstarter ended, Cloud Imperium Games continued to raise funds through the sale of ships and other in-game content. Star Citizen monetization models have led to further criticism and legal issues for the project. It is noted for being one of the highest-funded crowdfunding projects. As of November 2025, combined crowdfunding and early access sales have reached nearly US$900 million, becoming one of the most expensive video games to develop and among the most expensive single pieces of entertainment ever produced.
Gameplay
Star Citizen combines features from space simulator, first person shooter, and massively multiplayer online genres across its four playable modes. These modes, called modules, provide different player experiences from one another. Three of the modules, Hangar, Arena Commander, and Star Marine, provide examples of gameplay features that appears in the Persistent Universe module, but also have their own mechanics.Hangar module
In the Hangar Module, players can explore or modify their purchased ships that have been publicly released and interact with the ship's systems, though no flying options are available. Also included are decorations and flair that can be placed and arranged within the hangar. As of Star Citizen Alpha patch 3.13.1a, the Hangar Module is currently disabled due to ongoing issues.Arena Commander
Arena Commander is an in-fiction space combat simulator allowing players to fly ships in various game types against other players or AI opponents. In the Free Flight game type, players can pilot their ship without threat of combat encounters, while in Vanduul Swarm up to 4 players fight waves of computer controlled enemies. Capture the Core is a game type inspired by classic capture the flag rules, where a team must capture the opposing team's core and deposit it on their side. A racing game type, set on a specifically designed map with three courses, allows players to fly through checkpoints and attempt to beat each other's time. Game types like Battle Royale and Team place players in direct opposition of one another, gaining points for destroying enemy ships. A final game type, called Pirate Swarm, is a horde based game type similar to Vanduul Swarm but with different enemy types.G-force effects on the pilot were introduced in Arena Commander, which could cause the player character to black out if they moved in a way that applied substantial g-forces on the ship. Equipment to customize ships used in Arena Commander can be rented to further allow for modification of player ship combat ability. While a multi-crew component of Arena Commander was announced at a 2015 Star Citizen conference, it has yet to be implemented in the game.
Star Marine
Star Marine is an in-fiction ground combat simulator, allowing players to fight each other with conventional weaponry. Two maps were made available on release, along with two game types: Elimination and Last Stand.Last Stand is a "capture-and-hold" game type in which two opposing teams each attempt to capture one or more control points to gain points; as a team captures more control points, they gain points at a steadily increasing rate. Elimination is a free-for-all game type; unlike the team-based "Last Stand", players work individually to gain the highest kill-count before the match ends. Both game variants last for ten minutes or until one team accrues the higher score.
Persistent Universe
The Persistent Universe, with 3 distinct systems, Pyro, Stanton, and Nyx, combines the gameplay aspects of the Hangar, Arena Commander, and Star Marine modules into a single multiplayer platform. Players can freely navigate around and on the surface of four planets, nine moons, a planetoid, and a gas giant.Players can create male or female avatars for the Persistent Universe. Upon entering the mode, players spawn at a space station or one of the available planets in the game. Once spawned, players are given the freedom to choose what they pursue, whether it is trading, bounty hunting, mining, or taking on missions. A law system keeps track of player activities and penalizes players for engaging in criminal behavior with a rating that blocks access to certain areas and can lead to bounties or violent reactions from law enforcement. In order to reduce their criminal rating, players must hack the law enforcement network or pay off fines they may have incurred.
Movement is available in both gravity and zero-gravity environments. Different planets have different gravitational pulls which alter player jump heights. In zero-gravity, players can move with six degrees of freedom, with forward movement possible through thrusters on their backs. If a player enters a ship, they can freely traverse it with artificial gravity affecting them.
While the final game will use an in-game currency called UEC, short for United Earth Credits, the current early-access version uses a temporary currency called aUEC, which will be reset from time to time and at the release of the game.
Any purchased or rented ship or vehicle can be spawned by the player at a landing zone via the ASOP Vehicle Retrieval Terminals. Ships can be purchased with real-world funds or at in-game kiosks with earned credits. Rental ships can be procured at separate kiosks for intervals ranging from a few days to a month. If a ship is destroyed, players must file an insurance claim and wait a period of time for it to be delivered. Players can pilot ships both in space and in atmospheres; transitions between the two occur without loading screens in real time.
Planets in the game are procedurally generated with distinct biomes and areas of interest. On each planet is a landing zone, often within a city, where players can disembark and explore on foot. Some cities include transit systems that connect various sections together. Stores that carry various weapons and items can be found in these zones, allowing players to purchase equipment and trade goods for their character and ships. On most planets, cave systems are available for players to explore, in which they can take on investigation missions or mine for rare ores.
''Squadron 42''
Squadron 42 is a story-based single-player game set in the Star Citizen fictional universe described by the developers as a "spiritual successor to Wing Commander". It is being developed by the Foundry 42 studio under the supervision of Chris Roberts' brother Erin, who had already worked with him on the Wing Commander series and led the production and development of games like Privateer 2: The Darkening and Starlancer. It was originally announced for release in 2014 during the Kickstarter campaign, but was delayed multiple times. In mid-2019 CIG stated that a beta release was planned before the end of Q2 2020, then an estimated Q3 2020 on a now abandoned roadmap. In December 2020 Chris Roberts announced there will be no official release date or gameplay footage at this time. "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". At CitizenCon 2024, first gameplay parts of Squadron 42 were shown and a release in 2026 was suggested.The developers state that the interactive storyline centers on an elite military unit and involves the player character enlisting in the United Empire of Earth Navy, taking part in a campaign that starts with a large space battle. The player's actions will allow them to optionally achieve citizenship in the UEE and affect their status in the Star Citizen persistent universe, but neither of the two games has to be played in order to access the other. In addition to space combat simulation and first-person shooter elements, reported features include a conversation system that affects relationships with non-player pilots. An optional co-operative mode was initially proposed in the Kickstarter, but later changed to be a separate mode added after release. The game is planned to be released in multiple episodes, and according to the developers will be offering an estimated of 20 hours of gameplay for Squadron 42 Episode One with about 70 missions worth of gameplay. Squadron 42 Episodes Two and Three will launch later. The cast for Squadron 42 includes Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Jack Huston, Eleanor Tomlinson, Harry Treadaway, Sophie Wu, Damson Idris, Eric Wareheim, Rhona Mitra, Henry Cavill, and Ben Mendelsohn amongst others.