Why has the video game industry struggled to make good space sci fi games in the 2010s?

The most expensive game currently in the making is GTA VI with a 2 billion USD budget vs Star Citizen's and Squadron 42's shared ~600 million. Not sure if other juggernauts like that are around.

Squadron 42 and MEA are ultimately very different products. They share the science fiction theme but that's about it - almost everything else is different, from the style of story and writing to what you actually do in the game. MEA is what it is, no matter whether Squadron 42 exists or not.

A bit of constructive feedback: I've seen quite a few of your threads, and the pattern seems to be "Why was x better/worse during x-time period". Respectfully, have you ever considered that this might reflect a lack of perspective on your part, and that you're projecting your own feelings from whatever time period onto the topic you're discussing?

It's possible you're making these threads because you're seeking social connection and view talking about your own experience with these topics you're passionate about as a good way to do so, which is great and all, but you tend to give scant evidence for your claims. If you think a certain time period is worth noting, explicitly try to show why in depth by giving a comparison with different time periods and providing concrete examples of good/bad trends between these periods. To most people, these threads are gonna come off as low effort and indicative of a lack of research into whatever talking about. Inevitably, some people are gonna disagree with what you're saying anyway, and when you continuously make weak/non-existent arguments to back up the same copy-and-pasted thesis in different forms, you're giving people ample room to dismiss you from the get-go.

I wish them well and the concept art does look intriguing. But it's clearly in very early stages. I hope the IP is original enough to stand out. 

In the beginning, computer games were a niche product. Even back then, people wanted to earn money with them, but it wasn't a mass product. Not everyone had a console or a computer at the time
I would say from 2000 onwards it became more and more mainstream, also because more and more people could afford consoles and computers.
Today, the games market has become so big that you can almost compare it to the film industry.
The downside of this is that now, especially the AAA games are being made for the mainstream.
That's why most AAA games are very similar and not very provocative. or creativ and often boring

The weird thing is that Andromeda isn't really that optimistic or hopeful. Their situation sucks and there is little cause for optimism if you actually think and consider all the details. It's only the surface that seems optimistic and fun. Like they had to choose between crying or laughing and they chose the latter. 

Because the Sci-Fi authors and writers of today are not as imaginative nor competent as they were a decide or two ago.

They certainly were because they were not suffering from brain rot via social media and hatred of past sci fi works like authors today are.