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What is the storage requirement for Squadron 42?
As of RSI’s April 16, 2026 availability checklist, Squadron 42 was still in development and had no downloadable release. Because there was no public installer, RSI had not published a current installation-size figure for the single-player game. Any precise number presented as “the Squadron 42 size” is therefore not established by the official information available at that date.
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That distinction matters because Squadron 42 and Star Citizen are related RSI products but are not the same installation. A requirement for one cannot be safely substituted for the other. Planning from Star Citizen’s number is useful only as a general indication of the storage class an RSI game may need, not as a promise about Squadron 42’s eventual footprint.
The current official figure belongs to Star Citizen
RSI’s Star Citizen Minimum System Requirements page, updated September 23, 2026, lists 150+ GB of SSD storage for both minimum and recommended specifications. RSI also notes that requirements can change while Star Citizen remains in development. The page does not identify that figure as a Squadron 42 requirement.
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| Item | Published storage information | Date or status | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squadron 42 | No current install size stated | Unavailable to download; RSI checklist updated April 16, 2026 | Do not plan from an invented or leaked number; check the release information again when availability changes. |
| Star Citizen | 150+ GB on an SSD for minimum and recommended specifications | System-requirements page updated September 23, 2026 | Use as current planning context for Star Citizen, not as Squadron 42’s confirmed size. |
| Older RSI launcher troubleshooting guidance | At least 100 GB for the launcher and Star Citizen | Undated support guidance, encountered in 2026 | Treat as superseded for present planning because it conflicts with the newer 150+ GB requirement. |
How much free space should you have before installing?
For Star Citizen, start with the newer requirement: a compatible SSD with at least 150+ GB available for the game. Do not treat that as a complete “working room” promise. Installation, patching and file verification can need additional free capacity, and RSI does not publish a separate temporary-update-space figure in the cited documentation.
The RSI launcher does not check the selected drive’s available space against the amount needed before beginning. A drive can therefore appear selectable even when it cannot complete the install or a later update. Check the target drive in Windows File Explorer before starting, and check it again before a large patch or verification operation.
- Confirm that the target is an SSD if you are planning for Star Citizen’s current requirements.
- Look at free capacity, not just the drive’s total advertised size.
- Leave room beyond the published requirement for update and verification work; RSI gives no official fixed buffer to substitute for your own capacity check.
- Do not assume a future Squadron 42 requirement will equal Star Citizen’s figure. Recheck RSI’s release and system-requirements information when Squadron 42 becomes downloadable.
First, find where the files really are
Before deleting anything, identify the installation that is consuming space. In the RSI Launcher, open Settings, then Games, and inspect the listed install location. The launcher can report that a game is not installed when its selected path does not match the folder that is actually on the drive. Deleting a guessed folder in that situation can remove the wrong files while leaving the real installation untouched.
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- Open the RSI Launcher.
- Go to Settings and select Games.
- Note the installation location shown for the relevant environment.
- Compare that location with the folders on the drive in File Explorer.
- Only then choose an environment to uninstall or begin a full cleanup.
These labels and paths come from RSI’s Windows documentation. Do not assume the same folders or procedures apply to macOS or Linux.
Remove an unused Star Citizen environment from the launcher
If you installed more than one channel, removing an unused environment is usually the least destructive way to recover space. A channel such as LIVE or PTU can be removed without deleting every launcher and configuration component.
- Open the RSI Launcher and select the environment you no longer need, such as LIVE or PTU.
- Open that environment’s gear menu.
- Choose Uninstall and confirm the operation.
- Wait for the uninstall to finish, then verify free space on the drive.
- When it completes, the launcher should show the option to install that environment again.
This approach is appropriate when you want to keep the launcher or another channel. It also reduces the chance of deleting personal settings unnecessarily.
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Perform a full deletion only for a reinstall or complete removal
RSI’s full cleanup procedure is intended for removing the game and launcher before a reinstall or for troubleshooting a damaged installation. It is more extensive than uninstalling one environment and should not be used casually just to test whether clearing a cache helps.
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Before deleting the installation, save any custom control profiles and keybindings from USERControlsMappings. Also preserve any custom user.cfg file. These files can contain settings that are difficult to recreate. Copy them to a separate folder or external drive that will not be removed during cleanup.
Delete the components RSI identifies
- Close the RSI Launcher and confirm that related processes are no longer running.
- Remove the launcher’s Roaming app-data folder as described in RSI’s deletion instructions.
- Remove Star Citizen’s Local app-data folder.
- Delete the RSI installation folder under Program Files.
- Empty the Windows Recycle Bin. Until it is emptied, deleted files may still occupy the drive.
- Reinstall only after checking the target drive’s free capacity and selecting the intended location in the launcher.
Do not delete the USER folder without first saving the mappings and configuration you need. A full cleanup can reclaim the space occupied by the installation, but it also removes the local data that the backup step protects.
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What clearing the launcher cache does—and does not do
The RSI Launcher includes a Clear Launcher Cache control. RSI presents this as a troubleshooting refresh for locally stored launcher files. It can help when the launcher displays stale information or behaves incorrectly, but RSI does not promise that it will recover a substantial or predictable amount of game-installation space.
Use cache clearing when the symptom is a launcher problem, not as your primary storage strategy. If the goal is to reclaim tens or hundreds of gigabytes, remove an unused environment or follow the full deletion procedure instead. Always close any install or update operation before using a cleanup control.
Fix low-space failures during installation or updates
Low capacity can show up in several ways: an install that stops partway through, an update that repeatedly fails, or verification that cannot complete. Because the launcher may not validate available space in advance, the absence of an early warning does not mean the drive has enough room.
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If the launcher says the game is not installed
Return to Settings > Games and compare the selected install location with the actual folder. A path mismatch can make an existing installation appear missing. Correct the location before downloading another copy; otherwise you may create a duplicate installation and consume additional space.
If an update or verification fails
- Check free capacity on the drive that contains the game, not merely the drive where the launcher executable resides.
- Remove an unused LIVE or PTU environment through its gear menu if one is present.
- Recheck the selected install location so the launcher is working on the intended folder.
- Use Clear Launcher Cache only for launcher-state problems; it is not a guaranteed game-file cleanup.
- If the installation is corrupted and you are prepared to reinstall, back up custom mappings and
user.cfg, then use RSI’s full deletion sequence.
When adding an SSD makes more sense than deleting files
Cleanup is the right first move when an unused channel or old installation is consuming space. If the drive still cannot provide the published Star Citizen requirement plus practical room for updates, storage expansion may be the more reliable solution.
| Situation | Prefer | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| An unused LIVE or PTU environment occupies the drive | Launcher uninstall | Reclaims that environment without removing everything else. |
| You are preparing for a clean reinstall or troubleshooting persistent corruption | Full deletion after backups | Removes the launcher, local data and installation components RSI identifies. |
| The drive has little free capacity even after cleanup | A compatible internal SSD with more capacity | Provides room for the 150+ GB Star Citizen requirement and future update work. |
| You are considering a drive purchase | Check compatibility first | The cited documentation does not specify a brand, model, form factor or price; your computer determines which SSD will work. |
RSI’s published information establishes the SSD requirement and the 150+ GB figure for Star Citizen, but it does not recommend a particular manufacturer, model or total drive capacity. Check your computer’s available slot, interface and operating-system support before buying any replacement or additional drive. A generic internal SSD is relevant only if you cannot recover enough room or do not already have a suitable SSD.
Keep the products and numbers separate
The safest way to answer “How many gigabytes is Squadron 42?” is: there was no official downloadable size in the April 16, 2026 RSI availability information. The concrete 150+ GB number belongs to Star Citizen’s September 23, 2026 system-requirements page. The older 100 GB launcher advice should not override that newer, dated requirement.
Storage planning should therefore follow two tracks: wait for an official Squadron 42 requirement when the game becomes available, and use the current Star Citizen requirement only when you are installing or maintaining Star Citizen. For immediate space recovery, identify the actual path, remove an unused environment, protect your custom files before a full deletion, and empty the Recycle Bin after deleting data.
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