Today, Cloud Imperium Games released a new update for its growing space simulator Star Citizen, numbered Alpha 4.8.3.
The update brings back an old enemy, the xenophobic terrorist faction Xenothreat, which is once again returning to threaten Stanton due to the system’s support for coexistence with alien races.
Xenothreat is viciously xenophobic and anti-UEE, so much so that Foxwell Enforcement has been petitioned for support in order to counter new incursions.
The event will run until July 15, and players will be able to engage in the following activities.
- Come to the defense of alien-made ships that are under attack by isolationist forces
- Engage with waves of anti-alien fighters to relieve them of their misguided lives
- Lay in wait and eliminate the exclusionary elitists the moment they arrive
- Draw out their xenophobic lieutenants to weaken the villains’ command structure
- Remove their Idris frigate by either destroying the ship or killing the pilot on board
If you’re unfamiliar with Star Citizen, it’s a PC exclusive, crowdfunded project directed by Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame. It’s a multiplayer sandbox space simulator that has been in development for over a decade and in alpha for several years.
The crowdfunding total for the game just passed one billion dollars, and it’s currently sitting at $1,024,696,322. The game currently has 6,603,062 registered accounts, but we know that not all are paying customers.
Some are alt accounts, while others are simply created to enjoy the “Free Fly” periods that fairly often let non-backers enjoy the game at no cost.
It’s notable that Star Citizen’s funding tally for 2025 has beaten all records from previous years by a large margin.
A single-player campaign titled Squadron 42 is also in active development with a recently confirmed 2026 release window, starring an exceptional cast of famous actors, including Mark Hamill, Henry Cavill, Gary Oldman, Liam Cunningham, Gillian Anderson, and more.
Since the project has been in development for over a decade, you can see how Squadron 42 has evolved since its first reveal.
Full disclosure: the author of this article has backed Star Citizen’s crowdfunding campaign.
