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SaltEMike TV
The Squadron 42 Situation is Crazy...
⏱ 28 min video · 3 min read20 Jun 2026
TL;DR
SaltEMike reacts to CIG inviting select creators and community members to a 3-day hands-on Squadron 42 event at the Manchester studio in October 2025, a Citizen Con replacement. He was not invited, explains why that is unsurprising given his critical stance, and uses the moment to counsel other excluded creators not to be discouraged.
Key points
1
CIG sent invites to a 3-day exclusive Squadron 42 hands-on event at Manchester studio October 9-11, 2025, replacing Citizen Con, where guests will tour the studio and be the first to play Squadron 42.
2
SaltEMike, who identifies as the top English-speaking Star Citizen streamer by 365-day stats, was not invited, and says this is expected given his critical content and CIG previously telling him they do not want to signal-boost his channel.
3
The invitees appear to be long-time backers, big spenders, Austin crew members, or very positive/uncontroversial creators — people unlikely to say anything negative publicly about the event or the game.
4
SaltEMike warns CIG that consistently excluding vocal, high-engagement creators in favor of yes-men risks alienating the most active community members post-launch, when genuine community engagement will matter most.
5
He reassures excluded creators that CIG has virtually no ability to help or hurt their growth as content creators, that 95% of growth is self-driven, and that missing this event will have negligible long-term impact on their careers.
Key arguments
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CIG is framing this event as a marketing exercise under community management, which sits within their marketing umbrella — so picks are driven by brand safety, not community representation or audience size.
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Creators who were not invited should not interpret it as a failure: CIG excluded the largest English-speaking Star Citizen streamer, proving it is not a metrics-based decision but an optics-based one.
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For those who were invited: step outside your comfort zone, engage deeply with developers during downtime, and understand this is a rare, potentially career-defining experience — but candid feedback may cost future invitations.
Notable quotes
“CIG gave that to me and no matter how they treat me now, they can never take that away from me. Ever.”
“Yes men who bend, bow down to you, protect you and all that stuff will only work for now, but not when you are actually trying to build a gaming community.”
“There is only one person on that list that I saw picked that has any idea who Christopher Blair is, who Vagabond is, who Maniac is — and that is what Squadron 42 is meant to be.”
Worth watching?
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Worth watching the full video?
The key arguments and emotional beats are all captured here — skip the video unless you want the personal nostalgia segments about Gamescom 2016 and the LA studio event, which do not add new information.
Saved you some time? The creator still deserves a like.
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