An orange Argo MOLE mining ship flies out of Levski, a settlement carved into an asteroid in the Nyx system, as other ships come and go

Star CitizenFree Fly GuideFan guide · Free Fly events

Fly the ’Verse for free. Only during Star Citizen Free Fly events.

Status:no event live · next expected November

Several times a year, Star Citizen opens its doors: anyone with a free RSI account can play without buying a Game Package. Here’s how to get in, what you can fly and when the next window is expected.

Get ready nowDon’t wait for the next Free Fly. Create your free account and install the RSI Launcher today, and you can jump in the minute it opens.

Create your free account (opens RSI in a new tab) Download the launcher

Next window: November expected
Last open Free Fly: Ended Aug 10
2026 for new players: 4 Free Flies
Live build: Alpha 4.10.2

Fig. 01Argo MOLE leaving Levski · in-game
Image: Cloud Imperium Games

Star Citizen Free Fly status: is it free right now?

Standby Between events · checked 2026-10-18

Free Fly isn’t live right now – next one expected November.

No Star Citizen Free Fly is live right now, so playing today requires a Game Package. The big November expo (IAE) started Nov 22 in 2024 and Nov 20 in 2025. The 2026 dates haven’t been announced, and nothing is official until RSI posts it.

You can create a free account now so you’re ready when it opens. Read IAE 2956 Free Fly: what we know so far. How to get ready

2026 Free Fly log

1CoramorFeb 12–23
2Captains of IndustryApr 9–20
3DefenseConMay 18–27
4Foundation FestivalJul 29–Aug 10
5Ship ShowdownAug 26–Sep 2 backers only
6IAE 2956Nov, not announced

Full Free Fly schedule and past dates

What is Star Citizen? One universe. Seamless from hangar to orbit. Your call.

Star Citizen is a space sim from Cloud Imperium Games, played in first person. You walk out of a hab, ride a tram to the spaceport, climb into your cockpit and fly from a city’s skyline to orbit, to a moon and down to its surface.

What you do there is up to you:

A large freighter stacked with cargo containers in orbit above a cloud-streaked planet — 01Haulcargo between stationsFig. 02

An orange Argo MOLE mining ship flies past a space station, thrusters glowing blue — 02MineasteroidsFig. 03

An Aegis Reclaimer salvage ship drifts through a field of wreckage — 03SalvagewrecksFig. 04

An exploration ship sits landed on a mountain plateau under a hazy sky — 04Explorelawless systemsFig. 05

Fighters trade fire above a planet’s bright limb — 05Fightin dogfights, or crew a gunship with friendsFig. 06

Alpha 4.10.2The game is still in Alpha (live version 4.10.2 as of October 18, 2026). It changes with every patch, and progress can sometimes be reset. Wondering whether it’s legit? Is Star Citizen a scam? sets out the facts.

Figs. 02–06Haul, Explore and Fight: Star Citizen Fankit wallpapers · Mine and Salvage: RSI ship pages · Images: Cloud Imperium Games

How to play free during a Free Fly: From zero to cockpit in four steps

Two pilots race Nox hoverbikes low across the icy surface of the moon Yela — Fig. 07Nox race, Yela · in-game · Image: Cloud Imperium Games

A Star Citizen Free Fly is a limited-time event. Anyone with a free RSI account can play without a Game Package while it runs. You can create your account and install the RSI Launcher any time. It isn’t confirmed whether the game itself will download before an event opens, so check the event announcement and leave time for a large download.

Any time

Create your free RSI account

Sign up at Roberts Space Industries, the game’s official site. It’s free, and it’s the account you’ll use to play.

Create your free account (opens RSI in a new tab)

Sign up through these links and you get 50,000 UEC to spend in game.

Sign-up field empty?

If the code field is empty, type the code yourself, at sign-up or within 24 hours afterwards.

STAR-GVYH-JKYW
Event only

Grab your Free Fly access

When an event is live, open RSI’s official Fly Free page or the event’s announcement and follow its steps. Recent events haven’t needed a code. The ships change with each event; check the announcement or this page’s banner for the current list.

“Create an account, download the game and jump into the fun.”

CIG’s instructions for IAE 2955
03
Any time

Download the RSI Launcher

The Star Citizen download runs through the free RSI Launcher.
1. aSign in at robertsspaceindustries.com.
2. bClick the light-blue Download button at the top right, next to your account icon.
3. cRun the installer, sign in to the launcher and click Install.
OS
Windows 10/11 64-bit

Storage
150+ GB free, SSD

CPU
AVX, AVX2, FMA3

Check RSI’s full system requirements · Full download walkthrough, install size and download times

Download the launcher Opens RSI’s official download page (sign-in may be required)RSI Launcher 2.18.1 · version checked automatically every 6 hours
Event only

Launch and fly

Hit Launch, pick a starting city and head for the hangar. Event ships appear on your account, and you can rent others with in-game money. When the event ends, the free ships leave your account. Packages and ships you buy with real money stay.

New to the game? The Star Citizen beginner’s guide walks you from login to your first landing.

Heads-upEvent start times can slip. DefenseCon 2956’s Free Fly was due to open May 14, 2026 but opened May 18 because of server problems.

A ship slips past the open hangar door of Levski into the blue asteroid field of Nyx — Fig. 08Levski hangar door · Star Citizen Fankit wallpaper · Image: Cloud Imperium Games

Star Citizen beginner’s guide: New to the ’verse?

Your first session, one waypoint at a time: from logging in to your first landing at a station.

01Log in
02Choose a home location
03Hab to spaceport
04Retrieve your ship
05Fly to the nearby station

Read the beginner’s guide

Free Fly fleet

Ships you could be flying

Each Free Fly has its own lineup. Some events offer a handful of ships, while the big expos rotate free rentals through most of the fleet, a few manufacturers at a time, with everything open again in the final days. Every ship below was offered free to fly at an event in 2025–2026.

Drake Interplanetary

Drake Cutter

A tough little single-seater for light freight, with a 4 SCU hold, a bed and a shower for long hauls.

Role: Starter freight
Crew: 1
Cargo: 4 SCU
Free Fly: Foundation Festival 2026
Captains of Industry 2026

IndexHover or tap a ship to load it

At IAE 2955, PCGamesN counted “nearly 200” ships available to try during the event. The ships change with each event; check the announcement for the current list.

Universe

Where you’ll fly

An Anvil Valkyrie dropship flies low over burning savanna on Hurston at sunset, escorts on either side — Fig. 10Anvil Valkyrie over Hurston · in-game · Image: Cloud Imperium Games

System 01Stanton

Stanton: the corporate frontier

A single yellow star with four planets. Each planet is owned by a corporation, the only privately owned worlds in the UEE.

Hurston Lorville: An industrial company world. Heavy industry has polluted its savanna, and Lorville’s smokestacks loom over the landing zone.
Crusader Orison: A gas giant with breathable air high in its atmosphere. Orison floats on platforms where Crusader builds ships among the clouds.
ArcCorp Area18: A world built over by industry. Factories, headquarters and commercial districts cover most of the surface, with homes pushed to the poles.
microTech New Babbage: A failed terraforming effort left the planet cold and wrapped in unnaturally dense cloud, which suits microTech’s heat-sensitive servers.

A dark ship hovers above the cloud-shadowed lakes and plains of Bloom, the third planet of Pyro — Fig. 11Pyro III, Bloom · in-game · Glenn Batuyong, CC BY 4.0, cropped

System 02Pyro

Pyro: no law past the jump point

Go through the jump point from Stanton and you’re on your own. Pyro’s unstable flare star lights a system with no central government, where rival gangs carve up territory and “whoever has the most guns wins.”

Six planets, from the toxic, carbon-monoxide air of Monox to frigid Terminus.
Outlaw stations: Ruin Station orbits Terminus, and the system has hubs like Checkmate and Orbituary.
Live since Alpha 4.0 · December 2024

Levski’s towers and walkways cut into the rock of an asteroid, lit against the blue haze of the Nyx system — Fig. 12Levski · Star Citizen Fankit wallpaper · Image: Cloud Imperium Games

System 03Nyx · partial

Also out there: Nyx

Levski, a former mining facility carved into the asteroid Delamar, is part of the Nyx system. The system has been arriving in stages since Alpha 4.4 (November 2025).

Inside Levski

Landing pads
Grand Barter
Memorial
Mercy Hospital

Figs. 13–16Star Citizen Fankit wallpapers, Levski interiors · Image: Cloud Imperium Games

Star Citizen Free Fly FAQ: Questions pilots ask

Official news, Free Fly announcements and downloads are all at robertsspaceindustries.com.

Is Star Citizen free?

Not all the time. The account and the RSI Launcher are free, but outside Free Fly events you need a Game Package to play. During a Free Fly, anyone with a free RSI account can play without one. The cheapest Game Package (currently the First Flight Pack with the Aurora Mk II) has been listed at US$45–60 before tax. Prices change, so check RSI’s store for the current price.

Does Star Citizen have a free trial?

Not as a separate trial. RSI’s support article says: “At this time, Star Citizen does not offer a free trial.” The way to try it without buying is a Free Fly event, when anyone with a free RSI account can play until the event ends. The Free Fly status at the top of this page shows whether one is running and when the next is expected.

When is the next Free Fly?

As of October 18, 2026, no date for the next Star Citizen Free Fly has been announced. 2026 has had four open to new players so far, plus Ship Showdown in August, which was for existing backers only, and IAE is still expected. The Intergalactic Aerospace Expo started Nov 22 in 2024 (ran to Dec 5) and Nov 20 in 2025 (ran to Dec 3), and RSI posted the dates in early November both years. See what we know about IAE 2956 and the full Free Fly schedule.

How do I download Star Citizen?

Through the free RSI Launcher, only from robertsspaceindustries.com/download. It needs Windows 10/11 64-bit and at least 150 GB of free SSD space. Without a Game Package, the game itself may only be available to install while a Free Fly is live. Avoid third-party “Star Citizen download” sites. Our download guide covers the install size and download times.

Will my PC run Star Citizen?

At minimum, RSI lists 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, a quad-core CPU with AVX, AVX2 and FMA3 support (Intel i7 Haswell or later, AMD Excavator or later), 16 GB of RAM, a graphics card with 4 GB of VRAM and a driver that supports Direct3D 11.1 and Vulkan 1.2, and 150+ GB of free space on an SSD. Our system requirements page has the full minimum and recommended table.

Can I keep playing after Free Fly ends?

Only with a Game Package. When a Star Citizen Free Fly ends, the free ships leave your account. Your account stays, and so do real-money purchases. Star Citizen is in Alpha, so in-game money and items can be reset by updates.

Do I get bonus UEC if I sign up through this site?

The “Create your free account” button carries the site owner’s own code (STAR-GVYH-JKYW). RSI’s FAQ says:

“Anyone registering with your personal code will automatically get 50,000 UEC to help kick start their time in the ’verse.”
RSI Referral Program FAQ

The site owner only earns in-game rewards if you later buy a Game Package and spend at least $40. That’s RSI’s rule, not ours. A code from any player, a friend’s included, gives you the same 50,000 UEC.

Is Star Citizen out yet?

It’s playable now, with a Game Package or free during a Free Fly, but it’s still in Alpha. The live version is Alpha 4.10.2, and the game changes with every patch; progress can sometimes be reset.

Does Star Citizen run on Mac or Linux?

Not officially. RSI lists 64-bit Windows 10/11 only, and says “Star Citizen is not available for macOS or Linux.”

Is this site run by RSI or Cloud Imperium Games?

No. This is a fan guide and isn’t affiliated with Cloud Imperium Games. Official news, Free Fly announcements and downloads are all at robertsspaceindustries.com. About this site explains who runs it and how we check facts.