Today, Cloud Imperium Games revealed the content of the next update for Star Citizen, numbered Alpha 4.9.
The update will be released next week, and while smaller than originally intended (Siege of Orison has been delayed to 4.10 in August), it’ll still include some interesting features.
We’ll get a bunch of missions involving a new and mysterious faction, and new changes to the combat UI to better highlight hits, penetrations, and so forth.
More changes include immersive ship flyby sound effects and dedicated frames for ordnance on the cargo grid, on top of improved distribution centers.
We also hear that the Starwear feature will come in 4.11 in September, but in the meantime, we get to see some snazzy new outfits.
To top it all off, we’ll get behavioral changes for the Valakkar, new hairstyles, a new gun, and more kiosks at NewDeal.
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 $1,026,903,640. The game currently has 6,612,298 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.
