There will be a single player game, called Star Citizen -- Squadron 42, and also an online part where you can fly freely around in a persistent universe.
You may be a soldier in the squadron 42; an explorer who travels to unknown star systems; you can mine minerals and sell them as raw material, or you can produce goods from them; you may want to be a mercenary or bounty hunter; or perhaps you want to be a pirat? There are many roles and occupations!
Take a look at the trailer video below. The graphic details are unbeleivable! And so will the game be.
There are many more videos of Star Citizen on Youtube, like for instance this extended trailer:
... and the gameplay, explained by Chris Roberts himself:
You will notice that the game is not just on the drawing board, it has already developed into an internal pre-alpha testing model. The first official alpha version will be released to backers of the project (yes, you can!) in about 12 months -- November 2013. Then probably more alphas, and beta(s). The final game is scehduled to be released about one year after the first alpha, in November 2014. So two years to wait ... but, as I said, backers can play it before that!
So what is a backer? Well, it's you and me funding the project. If you pledge for a small amount of money ($35 or more), you get a free copy of the game when it's finished, your own ship, access to alphas and betas, some credits to use in the game, and much more! There are many pledge levels. Go to the webiste and look at the packages and included ships, and decide what you will contribute with to the project. If you want, you can also do this on Kickstarter. All pledgers receive their Star Citizenship card in the snail mail in about a month.
NOTE: The funding process on Internet will finish on November 19, so you much pledge before that date if you want a personal ship reserved for you and all the other goodies I mentioned above!
Oh, and did I mention that pledgers will have lifetime insurance on their ship(s)? That's right. Plus you get a free repair bot in your garage, and more!
Chris Roberts and his team can explain this game and universe much better than me, so go to the website and look for yourself!
Main website: https://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen/?rid=47093
Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen
EDIT: Fixed a link. (2012.11.03, 07:14am Zulu)
