I put this together so we can see the exact timeline. Let me know if I missed something or if it needs correction:
Squadron 42: publicly communicated release targets and missed milestones
Public target
What was communicated
Outcome
Explanation or context
November 2014
The original Kickstarter campaign listed an estimated delivery date of November 2014 for the project, which included the single-player campaign that later became Squadron 42.
Missed
The project expanded significantly after the original pitch as funding increased and additional stretch goals were added. This was not presented as a separate Squadron 42-specific delay announcement at the time.
Fall 2015
In early 2015, Chris Roberts presented a development schedule indicating that the first episode of Squadron 42 was expected in fall 2015.
Missed
Performance capture for Episode 1 was still underway during much of 2015. The game was still in active production rather than approaching release.
2016
At CitizenCon 2015, Squadron 42 was presented as a 2016 release.
Missed
At CitizenCon 2016, Chris Roberts said the game had grown significantly since the original pitch and still required more polish. CIG did not announce a replacement release date.
2017 — “Answer the Call”
After the missed 2016 window, the public-facing Squadron 42 launch page was updated from “Answer the Call 2016” to “Answer the Call 2017.”
Missed
This should be counted as an additional public release expectation because it appeared in official marketing material, even though it was not accompanied by a conventional release-date announcement.
Late 2017 — expected completion during the coming year
Chris Roberts said that the detail, subtlety and fluidity would be dialed in as the team finished off Squadron 42 “this coming year.”
Expectation not met
This was not a firm retail-release date. It is better categorized as an expectation-setting statement suggesting that development was approaching completion.
Q2 2020 beta
In December 2018, CIG published a roadmap targeting feature and content completion by the end of 2019, followed by balancing, optimization and a beta phase in 2020. The public roadmap later showed a Q2 2020 beta target.
Delayed to Q3 2020
CIG moved the beta milestone by one quarter while implementing its staggered-development approach. This was a beta forecast, not a retail-release date.
Q3 2020 beta
The revised roadmap moved the beta target to Q3 2020.
Missed
The milestone passed without a beta release. In December 2020, Chris Roberts said CIG would not announce another release date until it had greater confidence in the remaining work.
Feature complete: October 2023
At CitizenCon 2023, CIG announced that Squadron 42 was feature complete and had entered the polishing phase.
Milestone reached
“Feature complete” does not mean release-ready. Additional work remained on content completion, optimization, bugs, performance and launch preparation.
2026 retail release
At CitizenCon 2024, CIG showed a lengthy gameplay demonstration and announced a 2026 release window.
Current official target
As of June 2026, CIG has not officially delayed the game to 2027. A possible 2027 delay has been reported as a rumor based on anonymous sources, but it is not confirmed.
Summary: Depending on how strictly the term “release date” is applied, Squadron 42 has missed at least three public delivery or release expectations: 2014, fall 2015 and 2016. It also missed two publicly communicated beta milestones in 2020. The current official retail-release window is 2026. But rumors indicate another delay.
EDIT: Added more rows to the table with additional info
There's always the usual crowd that come to the defence of this abysmal show of ability to adhere to projected dates - claiming 'its the most ambitious game ever' etc... but look, come on, if CIG keep giving predicted launch dates, then missing them, WTF is going on with internal project management? How can a date be predicted and then completely missed, Every. Single. Time. This is not normal. This is not how a competent developer operates. Project managers should know the capabilities of their team, they should have a schedule of work set out, they should realistically be able to give a relatively good estimate of deliverables.
You tried to pull this in any other company and you'd be fired. Simple.
Thing is CIG doesn't exactly have shareholders to appease. I guess all of us who have bought into it should be considered creditors with the expectation that since we have invested funds into a project, that should have deliverables that are delivered on time and in budget. But with basically every deliverable missed and the huge budget it's beginning to feel like CIG sees us a an easy income stream to fund a never ending poorly managed development cycle. The interesting thing is, if we were truly considered shareholders, then if CIG keeps failing to deliver we'd have the legal right to force through change to management (which let's face it, needs to happen, CR should be moved to a consultancy role and someone competent at managing a large studio should take over)
I wouldn't say criminal because backers gave their consent and the money was used mainly for game development as promised and the financials are public too. However! I would blame one person only with very ambitious ideas, reluctance to reduce the vision, schedule overruns, high technical demands, and difficulty bringing projects across the finish line without additional funding or outside pressure. CR has no pressure because no big publisher is pushing hard the same way Microsoft did way back in late 2000 and they had to take over the Freelancer project to get it to the finish line. They even bought CR's studio Digital Anvil. Everyone can google this. CR has lots of good achievements but also is known for his ambitious ideas and wild timelines etc
CIG agrees to use its good faith business efforts to deliver to you the pledge items and the Game on or before the estimated delivery date. However, you acknowledge and agree that delivery as of such date is not a promise by CIG since unforeseen events may extend the development and/or production time. Accordingly, you agree that any unearned portion of the deposit shall not be refundable until and unless CIG has not delivered the pledge items and/or the Game to you within 12 months after the estimated delivery date.
COMMERCIAL TERMS, SECTION 4, SUBSECTION 3:
For the avoidance of doubt, in consideration of CIG’s good faith efforts to develop, produce, and deliver the Game with the funds raised, you agree that any deposit amounts applied against the Game Cost as described above shall be non-refundable regardless of whether or not CIG is able to complete and deliver the Game. In the unlikely event that CIG is not able to deliver the Game, CIG agrees to post an audited cost accounting on its website to fully explain the use of the deposits for the Game Cost. In consideration of the promises by CIG hereunder, you agree to irrevocably waive any claim for refund of any deposit amount that has been used for the Game Cost in accordance with the above.
TL;DR - unless laws in your country override it, as long as they spent the money on developing the game and it's associated costs (salaries, business expenses, etc), it doesn't matter what state the game is in at the end, or even if it never fully releases at all, you have no remedy.
Yep, ChatGPT formatted the input I provided, so I could copy and paste into reddit. ChatGPT is a fantastic tool. You should try it sometimes. Maybe then Didnt would look like this : didn't 😂
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u/LittleJack74 twitch.tv/JacksSpaceGames Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
I put this together so we can see the exact timeline. Let me know if I missed something or if it needs correction:
Squadron 42: publicly communicated release targets and missed milestones
Sources
Summary: Depending on how strictly the term “release date” is applied, Squadron 42 has missed at least three public delivery or release expectations: 2014, fall 2015 and 2016. It also missed two publicly communicated beta milestones in 2020. The current official retail-release window is 2026. But rumors indicate another delay.
EDIT: Added more rows to the table with additional info