Something to look forward to: Despite raising over $200 million in funding and several years of development, ambitious multiplayer space sim Star Citizen still doesn't have a release date. However, it's single-player 'Squadron 42' spin-off game finally does; sort of. Courtesy of a $46 million investment from billionaire record producer Clive Calder, the game is now expected to launch during the summer of 2020.

$46 million may seem like overkill for a single-player game that already has plenty of funding, but Chris Roberts (the owner of Roberts Space Industries, Star Citizen and Squadron 42's development team) says most of the title's fresh funding will go towards marketing costs.

Given some of the casting decisions Roberts has made with the game, such as bringing on Hollywood stars like Mark Hamill, promoting the game to as many people as possible could be a critical component of Squadron 42's future success. After all, if nobody buys the game in the end, it doesn't matter how good it might be; it'll still be considered a major loss.

When Squadron 42 eventually launches, the developers promise players will get to experience a thrilling, story-driven single player campaign filled with tough decisions, top-tier voice acting, and intense space and ground battles.

If you want to be one of the first to experience those features when Squadron 42 launches in a couple of years, you can pre-order the game right now for $45. If a story-driven space sim doesn't really sound like your cup of tea and you'd prefer something a bit more open-ended, the multiplayer side of Star Citizen can effectively be pre-ordered for the same price in the form of a $45 ship purchase.

However, just to reiterate, Star Citizen itself does not have a release date or even a release window, so you could be waiting for quite some time before you get to sink your teeth into it. On the bright side, you'll get to test the game's various Alpha versions as they release - for now, that means you can explore Star Citizen's first world and city (Hurston and Lorville, respectively).