Star Citizen is playable, but far from finished. You can read what’s already in the game today under current state. This page is about what’s still to come: new star systems, your own bases, expanded crafting, a new armor system and the tech that’s supposed to make it all possible.
Everything on this page is plans by Cloud Imperium Games (CIG), as of November 2026. Experience shows that details, order and above all dates still change along the way. So better not plan your vacation around them.
What’s actually coming in the next patches is covered in the news.
What’s still planned before version 1.0?
Version 1.0 marks the transition from alpha to the “real” game: stable gameplay loops, fleshed-out careers and a world where your progress is kept permanently, without resets. There’s no date. The only thing that’s clear is the order: first comes Squadron 42, planned for Q2 2027. After that, all developers except a very small team switch over to Star Citizen to finish 1.0. And they’re bringing quite a lot of Squadron 42 tech with them. The time frame mentioned for this so far is 2027 to 2028. Some of the content CIG has planned for 1.0 can also show up earlier in regular patches, though.
Star systems
At the launch of 1.0, five star systems are supposed to be travelable: besides Stanton, Pyro and Nyx, also Castra and Terra. Like today, there are supposed to be both law-abiding and lawless areas. Terra is considered one of the most important systems of the UEE and should feel much busier and more “civilized” than anything you know so far.
Nyx is next. Three planets are supposed to be added there: Nyx I, a planet terraformed with experimental tech and covered in lush vegetation, Nyx II with a scorching hot high-pressure atmosphere, and the ice giant Nyx III. Nyx I comes first with Alpha 5.0, committed for Q4 2026. Nyx II and Nyx III are set to follow with Alpha 5.1, tentatively in Q1 2027. After that, Castra is supposed to follow as the next new system.
You can get an impression of what the new systems are supposed to look like here:
Crafting
With the Item Fabricator, a first taste of crafting has been in the game since Alpha 4.7 (how it works today is explained under current state). So far you mainly use it to make FPS weapons and armor, as well as ship components, and the raw materials come exclusively from mining.
In the long run, crafting is supposed to become one of the central systems of the game:
- More sources of raw materials: Besides mining, salvage and farming are also supposed to supply material for blueprints.
- Bigger projects: At CitizenCon 2024, CIG showed crafting ranging from small items and components all the way to vehicles and ships.
- Research and blueprints: New blueprints are supposed to be unlocked not just as mission rewards, but also through research and faction reputation.
- A real economy: Because raw materials and their quality count for the result, careers like mining, salvage and hauling become more important. Whoever delivers good goods will be in demand.
Base building
Base building is supposed to let you build your own base on planets and moons: living quarters, hangars, refineries, freight elevators and mining facilities. Bases are also supposed to work as shops where you sell your goods to other players. Planetary shields for protection and even your own space stations are planned for later too.
Together with crafting, this creates a loop: you mine raw materials, process them in your base, make equipment or bigger parts out of them and sell them, or use them to expand your base further.
This video shows you what that’s supposed to look like:
Armor and FPS gameplay
Today, armor is mainly a question of protection and looks. That’s supposed to change: in future, every armor is supposed to have real pros and cons, so your choice fits your play style.
- Heavy versus light: Heavy armor protects more, but makes you slower and clumsier. Light armor protects less, but you’re faster and more agile. The tank or the scout, both are supposed to have their place.
- Pinging and personal radar: Just like in your ship, you’re supposed to be able to scan your surroundings on foot too. With a ping you detect other players and NPCs nearby and see them on a personal radar.
- Stealth: Where there’s scanning, people want to stay undetected. Stealth armor is supposed to reduce your signature so you’re harder to locate. So if you want to sneak up on someone, you go without thick armor plates.
- Specialized sets: Armor and suits that specifically support certain activities, for example for pilots, mining or medicine.
Some building blocks are already in the game, like the super heavy BUL-H4 armor or pilot armor that improves your tolerance to G-forces. The complete system is still to come, though.
Technology
Dynamic server meshing
Static server meshing has been running since the end of 2024, and the first building blocks of the dynamic version since Alpha 4.10 (what the difference is, is explained under current state). The last big step is still outstanding: areas with lots of players are supposed to be split automatically across several servers so that even big battles or crowded landing zones run smoothly. Chris Roberts had announced dynamic server meshing for 2026. The network team is currently working on a system called Claims, which determines which server is responsible for which part of the universe.
Genesis
One of the biggest tech leaps is just around the corner. Genesis with Planet Tech v5 is supposed to make planets much more alive and believable, starting with Nyx I. The leap is so big that CIG renamed the patch for it from 4.11 to Alpha 5.0 (Roadmap Roundup from November 4, 2026). Later, Genesis is set to be expanded to Nyx II, Nyx III and the existing planets as well. What’s behind it is explained under current state.
Tech from Squadron 42
Squadron 42 is also a preview of new tech, and according to CIG most of it is supposed to land in Star Citizen as quickly as possible too. What comes in which order is still open. Among other things, you can see in Squadron 42:
- Maelstrom: The physics-based destruction system makes ships break into real pieces of debris instead of simply exploding.
- Global illumination: New global lighting with ray tracing that makes light and shadows look much more natural.
- Social AI: NPCs that greet you, build a relationship with you and treat you with more or less respect depending on your decisions.
A living economy
In the background, a system called StarSim is supposed to simulate the economy and the population of the universe. Supply, demand and events are supposed to react to what players do: if a raw material gets scarce, the price goes up; if a region becomes unsafe, traders pull out.
Other plans
- Mission 2.0: The mission system is being rebuilt from the ground up. Among other things, rewards are supposed to scale with the size of your crew, and there will be more kinds of rewards.
- NPC crews: Big ships are supposed to be fully crewable with AI crew members. That’s been pushed back to sometime after 1.0, though. The AI blades are supposed to come earlier: an NPC takes over a single system like a turret, so you no longer need a friend for every turret.
- Player trading: Your own shops and direct trading between players. To fit the new design for it, the Banu Merchantman, the Banu’s flying bazaar, is currently being reworked too.
Get in now?
You don’t have to wait for 1.0. There’s already more to do today than you can manage in a weekend, and you get to watch the universe grow. If you enter a referral code when you sign up, you get 50,000 UEC of starting credit on top, for example with mine: STAR-KQJM-Q44K. You’ll find everything else about getting started under creating an account.