Link: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/en/comm-link/transmission/21296-This-Week-In-Star-Citizen

This Week in Star Citizen

ByIrmdall

Happy Monday, everyone!

Last week, many of you joined us on the PTU to put Alpha 4.10 through its paces, with focused runs on Siege of Orison, Recco Battaglia, and Cargo Missions. We also granted access to the Kruger S-65 Stingray for the weekend as a bonus for participating. Thanks to everyone who jumped in and helped us push the build forward - it was a huge help!

We're shoring up additional fixes and tightening things up across the board. A whopping 230 Blocker, Critical, and High Priority fixes alone have been checked in to Alpha 4.10 so far, with many more fixes still to come. If all goes smoothly, we're aiming to roll Alpha 4.10 out to Live this week.

Meanwhile, Phase 2 of the biggest aerospace smackdown in the 'verse is well underway as we approach the last duels to determine the Elite Eight of Ship Showdown 2956. Today, two Eclectic Exotics exchange fire for a shot at advancing, and tomorrow, the Big Hitters step into the ring to duke it out for the final spot. Cast your vote to ensure your champion moves on to the next round, and don't forget that daily voters who see the competition through to the end will earn a commemorative Spectrum badge.

We're doing things a little differently for this year's celebration. With Alpha 4.10 heading toward Live, we want to give the team room to monitor the release and continue improving the experience once it lands. So, this year's Ship Showdown Free Fly will be focused on the community already in the 'verse. From August 26 to September 2, all existing backers will be able to take the Elite Eight for a spin before the Final Four take the spotlight at Best in Show during this year's Intergalactic Aerospace Expo.

Or, put simply: launching a major patch and running a wider Free Fly in the same week... we're not going to do that.

Now, let's see what's going on this week:

On Wednesday, the Ship Showdown Elite Eight Free Fly begins for the existing community. We'll also publish the latest Roadmap Update alongside its complementary Roadmap Roundup.

Friday, we're in a Gamescom state of mind. Come raise a glass or two with your fellow starfaring Citizens and the CIG team at our next Bar Citizen World Tour stop at BON - Brauhaus ohne Namen in Cologne, Germany, from 6:00 PM. Space is limited, so it's first-come, first-served. Full details on the Gamescom Bar Citizen post.

Same day, you'll also find our weekly RSI Newsletter directly delivered to your inbox, and Jump Point magazine is back for all subscribers.

Fly low, and fly fast!

Freyja Vanadis
Senior Community Manager

The Weekly Community Content Schedule

MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2026

• This Week in Star Citizen

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026

• Ship Showdown 2956: Elite Eight Free Fly Begins
• Roadmap Update
• Roadmap Roundup

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2026

• Bar Citizen World Tour @ Gamescom - Cologne, Germany
• RSI Weekly Newsletter
• August Issue of Jump Point for Subscribers

Or, put simply: launching a major patch and running a wider Free Fly in the same week… we’re not going to do that.

Well, it's good to see that they're trying to handle the inevitable fires before the next free fly.

I remember when this game first launched and I was so excited for it; Wing Commander being one of my first real games I ever got into. Is the full game finally out and playable? I recall some controversy there

The single player game (Squadron 42) is supposed to release this year. Monthly newsletters still state this, but they haven't locked in a release date for it yet. I wouldn't be surprised if they pushed it back to next year.

They showed off over an hour's worth of gameplay footage for the first mission recently:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H-0x4xk2Xk

The Star Citizen 1.0 release date won't be for at least a few more years (I would guess 5 years if they stick with their currently projected release items).

On the plus side, the game is in a much better state than where it was 2 years ago. Server crashes (30k's) are practically non-existant. We have fauna in game now. There are some "boss fights" and raid-like gameplay. NPCs don't T-pose all over the place. NPCs can be very reactive (if you find a good server). There can be ~700+ players flying around across the 3 solar systems at the moment. VR support has been added. However, the learning curve is still heavily geared towards learning the workarounds to common bugs.

There's always controversy for one reason or another. My biggest recommendation is to avoid grinding for anything in this game. Just play to have fun.

It's basically September, and still no release date. Sq42 isn't coming out this year.