Squadron 42 delayed again to avoid 'attention buzz saw' of GTA 6

Squadron 42 has been delayed again, with director Chris Roberts saying in a post on the Roberts Space Industries website that the game will now target Q2 2027 rather than the 2026 window announced at CitizenCon 2024.

Roberts framed the change as a strategic move to avoid competing for coverage with Grand Theft Auto VI, writing that while GTA 6 is not launching on PC this November, "pretty much all outlets and most content creators will be all over it, not leaving a lot of room for other coverage."

At CitizenCon 2024, Roberts said, Cloud Imperium had planned "to release in Q4 around IAE" and previously announced shipping in 2026. He added that development on Squadron 42 began in 2014, noting it was intended as a "spiritual successor to Wing Commander" and that the project has had "twelve years of blood, sweat and tears invested into it."

Roberts concluded that the team had reviewed early 2027 release windows and "decided that Q2 provides a better time for Squadron 42 to release." The game was originally planned for 2015 and has missed multiple release windows since then.