Squadron 42 is now available to wishlist on Steam, giving Cloud Imperium Games’ long-awaited single-player space campaign an official page on Valve’s storefront. The listing went live on 10 October 2026 alongside a new cinematic trailer, “The Oath”, and currently targets a Q2 2027 release window.
This is an important step towards launch, but it is not a release-date announcement or a playable demo. The game cannot be purchased or downloaded through Steam yet, and the page does not list a price. Players can follow the title and add it to their wishlist while Cloud Imperium continues preparing the PC release.
What the Squadron 42 Steam page confirms
The new listing confirms Squadron 42 for Windows PC and gives it a 150GB storage requirement. It also says a third-party Roberts Space Industries account is required and that Steam account linking is supported.
The page describes Squadron 42 as a cinematic first-person adventure set in the Star Citizen universe. Players take the role of a rookie UEE Navy pilot serving aboard a capital warship, with the campaign moving between space combat and action on foot. The listed environments include capital ships, space stations, planetary locations and frontier outposts.
The production’s performance-capture cast remains one of its largest selling points. The Steam-era promotional material highlights actors including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill and Ben Mendelsohn. The latest trailer is designed to sell the game’s military science-fiction tone and story scale, rather than demonstrate a final performance benchmark.
Squadron 42 release window: what Q2 2027 means
Cloud Imperium’s current target is Q2 2027. In calendar terms, that means a launch window between 1 April and 30 June 2027. It does not confirm an April release, a 30 June deadline or any specific launch day within that period.
That distinction matters because Squadron 42 has had an unusually long development history and several previous targets have changed. The Steam page is the most visible public storefront milestone yet, but wishlisting should not be treated as a guarantee that the window cannot move. Until Cloud Imperium announces a dated launch, Q2 2027 is the only responsible timeframe to use.
How to wishlist Squadron 42 on Steam
- Open the official Squadron 42 page in the Steam store.
- Sign in to the Steam account you plan to use.
- Select “Add to your wishlist”.
- Follow the game if you also want Steam news and update notifications.
Adding a game to a wishlist is free and does not create a pre-order. It simply lets Steam notify the account when the game becomes available or receives relevant store updates. There is no purchase option at the time of writing.
Squadron 42 PC requirements and 150GB storage
The current listing shows Windows-only support and 150GB of available storage. No Mac, Linux, PlayStation or Xbox version is confirmed by the Steam announcement. The storefront also does not provide a complete conventional minimum-and-recommended specification table, so claims about an exact required CPU, GPU, RAM total or target frame rate would go beyond the published information.
Likewise, the absence of a ray-tracing requirement or DirectX 12 wording is not evidence that those technologies will be unsupported in the final build. It only means the current page does not establish them. Players planning upgrades should wait for Cloud Imperium’s detailed requirements rather than buying hardware around an incomplete early listing.
A 150GB install is substantial, and the final download could change as the game approaches release. Extra free space may also be needed for unpacking and patches. Treat the displayed figure as the current storefront requirement, not a permanent final size.
Will existing Squadron 42 backers get a Steam copy?
The Steam page confirms that an RSI account is required and that account linking is available. It does not explain whether historical backers will automatically receive a Steam key, whether an existing pledge can be transferred or which older packages qualify.
Account linking and ownership are separate questions. Existing backers should wait for a direct entitlement announcement from Roberts Space Industries before assuming they need to buy the game again—or that a Steam licence will appear automatically. The only confirmed action for a new Steam user today is adding the game to a wishlist.
What “The Oath” trailer changes
The new trailer runs for roughly three and a half minutes and accompanies the storefront launch. It reinforces the campaign’s combination of starfighter combat, naval service and cinematic character drama, but it does not announce a demo, beta or early-access period.
For searchers asking whether Squadron 42 is finally “on Steam”, the precise answer is yes: the official listing is live and wishlists are open. For anyone asking whether it has launched, can be pre-ordered or has an exact release date, the answer remains no.
What remains unconfirmed
Cloud Imperium has not yet published a precise release date, price, pre-order programme, complete PC specification table, Steam entitlement policy for existing backers or a console plan. Those gaps should remain marked as unknown rather than filled with rumours.
CODSKINS will continue tracking substantial PC and console announcements through the gaming news and guides hub. For more single-player release coverage, see the breakdown of 007 First Light’s free DLC and New Game+ plans.
The Steam wishlist launch is still meaningful: after years of development, Squadron 42 now has a mainstream storefront destination, a public Q2 2027 target and a fresh marketing campaign. The next genuinely decisive milestone will be a dated release announcement accompanied by final pricing, system requirements and backer-access details.
