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[LectureMaster]

“CIG has blown millions of backer's money on frivolous rubbish,” says a former Star Citizen dev, criticizing Squadron 42 - NewsBreak

CIG under fire. Ex Star Citizen developer slams Squadron 42 and claims most gameplay is just “walking and talking”. This info “CIG has blown millions of ba

www.newsbreak.com

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Star Citizen, the game that's been in development forever and has faced plenty of flak from its own community, is hitting another record-breaking year in 2025. Revenue keeps climbing, even with players grumbling about the supposed VIP perks of the Concierge club or all the microtransactions. On top of that, a former dev has now come forward with some pretty harsh words about Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) and the upcomingSquadron 42.

Squadron 42 – Stunning Visuals, but little actual gameplay

Yesterday, YouTuber Camural posted a video about Squadron 42 demo, and ex CIG developer Robert Petersonchimed in with some personal thoughts on what it was like working on Star Citizen.

I'm a former dev at the Frankfurt studio. I can say right now that the buckets of money they spent in the UK studio is about the same that they spent at the Frankfurt studio. CIG has blown millions of backer's money on frivolous bullshit.

In Robert's view most of Squadron 42's gameplay consists of "walking and talking" sequences where the player has minimal interaction, essentially following characters like Mark Hamill through scripted scenes. While visually impressive, they believe the game offers very little actual gameplay and consider it one of the worst games created, stating they won't spend money on it.

Squadron 42 will be a beautiful thing to look at, but it will no doubt be one of the worst "games" that was ever conceived...let alone made.

Robert was a level designer for the PU, but apparently wasn't allowed to design actual in-game levels, artists did that instead, even though they didn't really get why. Robert and lead level designer quit in 2022.

Squadron 42 is currently slated for a 2026 release. While CIG remains confident they can meet that timeline and deliver a truly immersive and unforgettable experience, growing concerns from fans, and even former developers, suggest the reality may fall short of expectations.

 

[nemiroff]

Cool story bro.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

 

[Paasei]

And just like SC it is of no concern that the game will also never be completed?

 

[Avid Reading Horse]

 

[nemiroff]

And just like SC it is of no concern that the game will also never be completed?

It'll release in 20-42, am I right?? Man, I'm such a good comedian

 

[Gonzito]

 

[bitbydeath]

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Wasn't Squadron 42 unveiled like a decade ago?

 

[Hero_Select]

 

[Shubh_C63]

We should keep a list of people who still wants to buy or have bought Squadron 42.

Maybe they are the problem.

 

[clarky]

Disgruntled ex-dev throws shade at ex-employers.

News at 11.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Good thing I got Squadron 42 free as an early backer.


We'll see what it's like when or if it releases next year. I don't know what to believe about SQ42 at this point. This ex-dev could be telling the truth or he could just be a disgruntled employee trying to cause chaos, time will tell.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Uh?That's what PC gamers love, am i right?

 

[clarky]

Uh?That's what PC gamers love, am i right?

Its releasing on Playstation at some point so it might find an audience there.

 

[LectureMaster]

 

[StueyDuck]

So its a big budget modern game then...

Thats literally most games these days, go to marker, person blabs for 30 minutes about utter shit, poorly written then the quest is to get teabags

Which inevitably ends up being , go to marker, do thing, press action button when it says action button, text says "got teabags" then you go back to quest giver marker and they blab some shit again... rinse and repeat, AAA gaming

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Its releasing on Playstation at some point so it might find an audience there.

 

[clarky]

So its a big budget modern game..

Thats literally most games these days, go to marker, person blabs for 30 minutes about utter shit, poorly written then the quest is to get teabags

Which inevitably ends up being , go to marker, do thing, press action button when it says action button, text says "got teabags" then you go back to quest giver marker and they blab some shit again... rinse and repeat, AAA gaming

This is more of a cinematic campaign type of game with liner levels from what little has been shown.

 

[clarky]

They are fucked either way. If it does ever release and isn't 10/10 mind-blowing (highly unlikely on both counts) it'll get creamed.

 

[StueyDuck]

This is more of a cinematic campaign type of game with liner levels from what little has been shown.

Oh yeah I know... im just saying anyone "upset" about it like people seem to get with anything star citizen should probably look harder at the AAA space in general cause thats like the majority of games today.

Heck even some indie games, the spunky warrior game or whatever it was called with the little dude who can hop between 2d and 3d just never shut the fuck up

 

[nemiroff]

Yeah, who needs all that talking stuff. Just remove it, including the campaign, and turn it into an mmo space game instead. Everyone would be happy about that!

 

[The Cockatrice]

They have enough money to fund and inflate all the critic scores to 20 out of 10. I can guarantee you these scammers will go at any lengths.

 

[Ribi]

So death stranding

 

[Fafalada]

This ex-dev could be telling the truth or he could just be a disgruntled employee

Sure, though from ppl I've known on the inside, every one was 'disgruntled' when they left.
And no that isn't exactly normal.

 

[Skifi28]

Its releasing on Playstation at some point so it might find an audience there.

We just don't know which Playstation. Maybe 7, we'll see.

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

I'm not a backer and don't have any interest in the PU component but the long section from the beginning of Squadron 42 looked good. I personally don't mind a little depth beyond simple combat.

 

[Kikorin]

People liked The Last of Us tho, so they'll should be fine.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

JFC they had already perfected this kind of game in Starlancer.

All they needed to do was improve the graphics.

Confession: I was actually interested in Star citizen because I am old and played space sims.
Unfortunately the game became an MMO for no life whales.

 

[Hudo]

It wouldn't surprise me. Roberts already pushed the Wing Commander games to more movie-like experiences, with Wing Commander 4 being the "worst offender" (still a good game), at the expense of gameplay. When he left and Wing Commander 5 got made without him, it showed. It was an arguably better video game but the story wasn't as "bombastic" as the previous entries (still a good game).

I feel that if he maintains the balance of video game vs movie that he had going in Wing Commander 4, it will turn out alright.

 

[Laptop1991]

13 years later and they still haven't yet got into the cockpit lol, great!

 

[Vlodril]

Doubtful. If the game comes out anyway i expect it to have plenty of gameplay both on foot and in spaceship combat.

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

Isn't that the natural end-point when you embrace absolutely ALL the feature creep. A "second life" type of game. The space-flight sim part better be amazing to balance out all the fluff.

 

[crackajack]

If talking includes choices, than it is something that could be interesting. If it's not that type of game than the story must be very well to convince some people to "play" it.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

A heavily cinematic GaaS experience. I could imagine Hermen Hulst begging Totoki to buy the studio, the one to take SIE to the stars.