Star Citizen Free Fly schedule: When is the next one?
Dates last checked . All dates on this page are UTC calendar days. No Free Fly is confirmed until RSI posts it.
As of , RSI hasn’t announced the next Star Citizen Free Fly or its dates. Going by past years, the next one should be IAE 2956, expected in November 2026 (see IAE 2956).The next Star Citizen Free Fly is announced: Free Fly starts (details below).A Star Citizen Free Fly is live: Free Fly runs until (details below). Below are the 2026 dates so far and every Free Fly since 2024, with how long each one ran and where each date comes from.
When is the next Star Citizen Free Fly?
Not announced yet. RSI hasn’t posted dates for the next Free Fly. Going by past years, the next one should be the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo, IAE 2956, in November 2026.
The evidence is the last two years. IAE started on in 2024 and on in 2025, and RSI posted the dates in early November both times. Its “Save the Date” posts went up on and , about two weeks before each start. Until RSI posts this year’s dates, any exact day you see elsewhere is a guess.
Announced. Free Fly starts and runs until . It opens in ; until then, playing requires a Game Package.
Ships: Check the official announcement for this event’s ships. Official event announcement
Live now. Free Fly is open to anyone with a free RSI account until , with to go. You don’t need a Game Package until it ends.
Ships: Check the official announcement for this event’s ships. Official event announcement
- 1CoramorFeb 12–23
- 2Captains of IndustryApr 9–20
- 3DefenseConMay 18–27
- 4Foundation FestivalJul 29–Aug 10
- 5Ship ShowdownAug 26–Sep 2
- 6IAE 2956Nov, not announced
Ship Showdown 2956 was for existing backers only: new players couldn’t join it.
Get ready before it startsGet in before it ends
For IAE, RSI gave about two weeks’ notice in both 2024 and 2025, so set up early.The download is large, so set up before it opens.The download is large, so start now. Create a free RSI account (opens RSI in a new tab), get the download done before it starts (RSI asks for 150+ GB free on an SSD), and keep an eye on our live Free Fly status.
Star Citizen Free Fly dates in 2026
As of October 2026, four Free Flies open to new players have run this year, plus a Ship Showdown Free Fly for existing backers only. IAE 2956 is still expected.
Days are counted inclusively, so the first and the last day both count. The tag in the Source column says how solid each date is: see how we rate sources.
| Event | Free Fly dates | Days | Ships offered | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coramor | – | 12 | Five ships, per MassivelyOP: Anvil Arrow, RSI Salvation, Drake Golem, Argo MOLE, Drake Cutlass Black | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 20967 | Announced in RSI’s Valentine’s Day 2026 post |
| Captains of Industry | – | 12 | Six industry ships, including the Drake Cutter, Drake Golem OX and MISC Hull A | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 21098 (text mirror) | Ship list from Blue’s News |
| DefenseCon 2956 | – | 10 | —not recorded | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 21173 (text mirror) | Due ; RSI held it back until fixes were in and opened it May 18. Took Invictus’s usual May slot. |
| Foundation Festival | – | 13 | Five ships: RSI Aurora Mk II, Drake Cutter, Crusader Intrepid, Drake Golem, RSI Salvation | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 21211 | —none |
| Ship Showdown 2956, Existing backers only | – | 8 | The Elite Eight: Drake Ironclad Assault, Greycat MTC, Drake Corsair, Drake Clipper, Aegis Reclaimer, Origin M80, Gatac Railen, RSI Perseus | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 21296 (text mirror) | Existing backers only: RSI kept this one to “the community already in the ’verse” during the Alpha 4.10 launch, so new players couldn’t join |
| IAE 2956 | Expected in November; not announced | —not known | —not announced | —no announcement yet | What we know so far |
How often is there a Free Fly?
Several times a year, usually for one to two weeks. The 2025 and 2024 lists below have five each. In 2026, four have been open to new players so far, plus Ship Showdown for existing backers only, and IAE 2956 is still expected.
Not every Free Fly is open to everyone: RSI kept Ship Showdown 2956 to existing backers while Alpha 4.10 launched. Each event’s announcement says who can join.
How long does a Free Fly last?
Usually one to two weeks. The 14 Free Flies open to new players since 2024 ran 8 to 14 days, counted inclusively, and IAE ran longest, at 14 days in both 2024 and 2025. The four in 2026 so far ran 10 to 13 days.
The 14 are the Free Flies in the tables on this page that new players could join, from February 2024 to August 2026. Ship Showdown 2956 is left out because it was for existing backers only; it ran 8 days. Seven of the 14 ran 12 or 13 days. DefenseCon 2956’s 10 days reflect its delayed opening: it was due on May 14 but opened on May 18.
| Free Fly | Days |
|---|---|
| IAE 2954, IAE 2955 | 14 |
| Invictus Launch Week 2954, Invictus 2955, Foundation Festival 2025 and 2026 | 13 |
| Free Fly (April 2025), Coramor 2026, Captains of Industry 2026 | 12 |
| DefenseCon 2956 (opened four days late) | 10 |
| Coramor / Red Festival 2024, Foundation Festival 2024, Ship Showdown 2024 and 2955 | 8 |
Which months usually have a Free Fly?
Free Flies follow a loose yearly pattern, tied to RSI’s in-game events:
- February: Coramor
- April: an industry or patch event
- May: Invictus, or DefenseCon in 2026
- July: Foundation Festival
- August: Ship Showdown (for existing backers only in 2026)
- November to early December: IAE
It isn’t fixed. In 2025 the April Free Fly had no named event, and in 2026 DefenseCon took Invictus’s May slot.
What time do Free Flies start and end?
The three Free Flies with an official start time all opened at about 16:00 UTC (9:00 PDT): Invictus 2954 on , Foundation Festival 2024 on and IAE 2955 on .
End times vary more. Foundation Festival 2024 closed at , while Invictus 2954 ran until about . Check each event’s announcement for its times. Openings can slip, too: DefenseCon 2956 opened four days late. We list every date and time in UTC.
Is a Free Fly the same as a free week or free weekend?
People often search for a Star Citizen “free week”, “free weekend” or “free flight”. RSI calls these events Free Fly, and recent ones have lasted one to two weeks (8 to 14 days), so longer than a weekend.
Is Star Citizen free to play? No. It’s free only during these Free Fly windows; the rest of the time you need a Game Package.
Free Fly history: 2025
Five Free Flies, from April to early December. IAE 2955 was the longest at 14 days.
| Event | Free Fly dates | Days | Ships offered | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Fly | – | 12 | —not recorded | PressAllkeyshop blog | No named event |
| Invictus 2955 | – | 13 | Free rentals that unlocked by manufacturer, a new group every two days, then all of them for the last two days | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 20542 (text mirror) | —none |
| Foundation Festival | – | 13 | —not recorded | PressPCGamesN | One fan site says Jul 2–9 |
| Ship Showdown 2955 Elite 8 | – | 8 | The Elite Eight: Asgard, Ursa Medivac, Razor, Gladiator, Zeus Mk II ES, Vulture, Prowler Utility, Polaris | PressThe Impound | —none |
| IAE 2955 | – | 14 | A free Crusader Intrepid loaner for everyone, plus free rentals by manufacturer, one group a day; PCGamesN counted “nearly 200” ships | OfficialRSI Comm-Link 20861 (text mirror) | Opened at 16:00 UTC; “Save the Date” posted Nov 6 |
Free Fly history: 2024
Five Free Flies again, from February to early December.
Fan sites disagree on when the February one ended. Press reports at the time give Feb 15; Feb 26 was the end of the in-game Red Festival, not the Free Fly.
| Event | Free Fly dates | Days | Ships offered | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coramor / Red Festival | – | 8 | —not recorded | PressTechRadar | Some fan sites say Feb 26, but PCGamesN gives that as the end of the in-game Red Festival, not the Free Fly |
| Invictus Launch Week 2954 | – | 13 | —not recorded | OfficialCIG press release (Game Developer) | —none |
| Foundation Festival | – | 8 | —not recorded | OfficialCIG media alert (Gamespress) | Ran from 16:00 UTC on Jul 12 to 20:00 UTC on Jul 19 |
| Ship Showdown | – | 8 | The Top 16 contenders | PressMMOBomb | RSI’s Comm-Link 20124 confirms it ran “through August 22” |
| IAE 2954 | – | 14 | Over 150 ships | OfficialCIG press release (Gamespress) | “Save the Date” posted Nov 7 |
How we check these dates
Every row links the page its dates come from, and the tag beside the link says what kind of source it is.
- Official
- An RSI Comm-Link, a Spectrum post or a CIG press release. When RSI’s own page only loads in a browser, we read a text mirror of the same Comm-Link.
- Press
- A news article.
- Fan only
- The dates come only from fan sites, including the Star Citizen Wiki. Where fan sites disagree, we show the month without dates.
Dates are UTC calendar days, and the Days column counts the first and the last day. The length figures count only the Free Flies new players could join, so they leave out Ship Showdown 2956, which was for existing backers only. Once RSI announces a Free Fly, its own post outranks every other source.
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