Star Citizen is currently free-to-play, but not for long (2024)

Star Citizen is currently free-to-play, but not for long (1)

Star Citizen, the in-development space simulator from Cloud Imperium Games, has launched its first free-to-play “Free Fly” event of 2024, giving players the chance to try the game out without spending a penny.

The latest Free Fly event kicked off yesterday (February 8) and is planned to run until February 15. Free-to-play players can try out five different ships, including the Prospector (a mining vessel) and the Origin 400i touring ship. If you’ve not played since the last Free Fly event, it’s worth noting that more content was added to the game in December, including some new open-world settlements, hairstyles, and expanded PvP content.

In case you were unaware, Star Citizen has had quite an interesting developmental story, to say the least. It was first announced all the way back in 2012, and although it’s been playable in an alpha state for a while now, there’s still no release window for its full launch in sight.

The original Kickstarter to fund the project smashed its initial goal of raising $500,000 (roughly £395,700) and surpassed $2 million (around £1.69 million). Even so, the game continues to earn money through the sale of “starter packs,” in-game ships, and other packages, many of which are exceptionally pricey. Right now, for example, one particular package, named Legatus 2953, costs a whopping $57,600 (£46,080).

While it’s not clear when the game is expected to release in full, it continues to get new content updates regularly. If you’ve ever been curious about it, there’s no doubt that this free-to-play period is an excellent chance to see what it has to offer.

Looking for some new games to dive into? You can find some excellent recommendations on our list of the best PC games. You can also find more games that you don’t need to spend a penny to play on our roundup of the best free games.

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Star Citizen is currently free-to-play, but not for long (2)

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Catherine is a News Writer for TechRadar Gaming. Armed with a journalism degree from The University of Sheffield, she was sucked into the games media industry after spending far too much time on her university newspaper writing aboutPokémonand cool indie games, and realising that was a very cool job, actually. She previously spent 19 months working at GAMINGbible as a full-time journalist. She loves all things Nintendo, and will never stop talking about Xenoblade Chronicles.

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Star Citizen is currently free-to-play, but not for long (2024)

FAQs

Is Star Citizen not free anymore? ›

At this time, Star Citizen does not offer a free trial for the game. However, we do occasionally run special events where anyone can explore the 'verse for a limited time: Free Fly Events.

Is it possible to play Star Citizen for free? ›

Star Citizen, the in-development space simulator from Cloud Imperium Games, has launched its first free-to-play “Free Fly” event of 2024, giving players the chance to try the game out without spending a penny.

How much do I have to pay to play Star Citizen? ›

Is Star Citizen free or paid? A package will contain one or more ships, as well as some in-game currency and insurance for your ships. The most important thing to note is that the cheapest packages ($45 USD) will ONLY include either the multiplayer Star Citizen or the single-player Squadron 42.

What is the deal with Star Citizen? ›

Star Citizen is an in-development multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation game. The game is being developed and published by Cloud Imperium Games for Windows. An extended retry of unrealized plans for Freelancer, Star Citizen is led by director Chris Roberts.

Is Star Citizen really that expensive? ›

Star Citizen bundle costs a whopping $48,000 — 175-ship package only available if you've spent more than $10,000 on the game. A big package for big spenders. It is no secret that games are expensive today, with AAA titles averaging $70 a pop (not to mention microtransactions).

Is Star Citizen unlimited? ›

Star Citizen gives you unlimited run of the Stanton system, a vast sandbox of life-size planets, moons, cities, space stations, asteroid belts, and more. With unmatched beauty, diversity, and danger in equal measure, you never know what's waiting for you when you take flight.

Will Star Citizen be subscription based? ›

Subscriptions are contributions that any user can make to the Star Citizen Project. Subscriptions contribute to Star Citizen project development by funding behind-the-scenes shows like Inside Star Citizen in addition to Jump Point, the monthly digital magazine about Star Citizen.

Is Star Citizen currently playable? ›

Cloud Imperium is also working on a singleplayer campaign called Squadron 42 which is also currently in development. Star Citizen is currently fully playable but is still in very early Alpha.

Can you download Star Citizen without buying a ship? ›

In order to enjoy Star Citizen today, you'll need a Game Package. With the exception of the Squadron 42 standalone pledge, all other Game Packages contain a copy of Star Citizen and a ship.

Can you play Star Citizen offline? ›

For Star Citizen Alpha, Arena Commander is accessed through the main menu and consists of a variety of game modes that can be selected, including some options to play offline if one so wishes. The options to select the desired modes are shown below.

What is the most expensive ship in Star Citizen? ›

Each Javelin, Star Citizen's most expensive ship, consists of nearly 2 million polygons. This statistic indicates that the Javelin, a high-end spacecraft in the video game Star Citizen, is composed of a complex digital model consisting of almost 2 million polygons.

Can I play Star Citizen without a starter pack? ›

To play the game, you need a so called game package. It doesn't matter if you're buying yourself a 50 or 500 dollar ship.

Can I be a pirate in Star Citizen? ›

In Star Citizen piracy is generally considered to be the high risk and reward scenario of attaining valuables via the threat of force. Although piracy as a career path is supported by Cloud Imperium Games, choosing the life of a pirate does not come without ramifications.

Can you refund Star Citizen? ›

We can indeed refund a non-credit subscription if you contact us within 30 days of the purchase and the subscription has not been used in any way. A "used subscription" includes such things as redeeming a subscription discount coupon or using the subscription to gain access to the Public Test Universe (PTU).

Why i can't play Star Citizen? ›

Ensure your graphics drivers are fully up to date. Ensure the RSI Launcher and StarCitizen executables are both listed as exceptions in any antivirus or firewall software. Ensure your CPU supports AVX technology. All x86 CPUs since Intel's Second Generation Core (Sandy Bridge) and AMD's Bulldozer FX CPUs support AVX.

Can I play Star Citizen with just a subscription? ›

Subscriptions to the Star Citizen Community Monthly and Annual Plans automatically renew and are charged accordingly at the end of their terms at then-current rates for additional monthly and annual terms respectively, until canceled by you. This subscription is optional and not required to play the game.

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