Section 01
Is Star Citizen worth buying?
Star Citizen is in alpha and has been since 2012. It is ambitious, beautiful, and sometimes broken. This section covers what you actually get for the entry price today, what you don’t, and the questions worth asking yourself before you pledge.
Read the full guideSection 02
System specs and hardware
Star Citizen is a demanding PC game. This section lists the official minimum and recommended specs, what you actually want for a smooth experience, and the hardware traps to avoid (low RAM, slow drives, outdated GPUs).
Read the full guideSection 03
How to actually buy the game
You buy through robertsspaceindustries.com — Star Citizen is not on Steam, not on the Epic store, and not anywhere else. This section walks through creating an account, applying a referral code for the 50,000 UEC bonus, and finishing checkout. See the step-by-step referral code walkthrough.
Read the full guideSection 04
Pledge vs purchase — what’s the difference?
Star Citizen is crowdfunded, so the community calls buying a game package a pledge rather than a purchase. Functionally it’s the same — money moves, you get a ship and access — but the wording matters when you read forum posts.
Read the full guideSection 05
The First Flight Pack: the one starter package
RSI now sells one starter package, the First Flight Pack. It lists at $60 and was on sale for $45 as of October 2026. It includes the Aurora Mk II, plus thirty-day loans of three more ships. This section explains what is in it.
Read the full guideSection 06
Installing the game
After you’ve pledged, you download a small installer from robertsspaceindustries.com that pulls down the actual launcher. This section covers the install paths, disk space requirements (150 GB of free SSD space), and the firewall prompts you’ll see along the way.
Read the full guideSection 07
Using the RSI launcher
The RSI launcher is what you open every time you want to play. This section explains the difference between the Live build, the PTU build, and the EPTU build — and how to switch between them.
Read the full guideSection 08
Launching the game for the first time
Click Launch, wait through the load screens, and you’ll land in your character’s personal hab room — a tiny in-game apartment in one of four major cities. This section explains which character options matter on day one and which can be deferred.
Read the full guideSection 09
Key binds you need to know
Star Citizen has hundreds of key binds. You only need about a dozen on day one: open mobiGlas, open inventory, interact, sprint, summon ship, flight controls. This section lists them and points to where the full binding map lives in the options menu.
Read the full guideSection 10
Your first day in the ‘Verse
What does day one actually look like? You wake up in your hab room. You walk outside. You see other players. You panic, briefly. This section is a calm, ordered list of the first ten things to do — and what to ignore until later.
Read the full guideSection 11
Getting from your hab to the hangar
Your hab is in a city. Your ship is in a hangar at the spaceport. The hangar is reached by tram, train, or shuttle depending on the city. This section walks the route in each of the four major cities so you’re never lost on day one.
Read the full guideSection 12
Your first flight
Power on. Strap in. Lift the landing gear. Burn for orbit. This section covers the take-off sequence, basic flight controls, and how not to crash into the hangar door on the way out.
Read the full guideQuick answers before you buy
The questions people search before spending anything, each with a straight answer on its own page.
Is Star Citizen on Steam?
Star Citizen is not on Steam, consoles, or Game Pass (Squadron 42 is on Steam). Where the game is actually sold, plus the Steam Deck answer.
Do you have to buy ships with real money?
No. One package, the First Flight Pack ($60 list, $45 on sale as of October 2026), is the only required purchase; every other ship can be rented or bought in-game with earned aUEC.
What should your first ship be?
The Aurora Mk II from the First Flight Pack. Three thirty-day loaners let you try mining, salvage and cargo. The Mustang Alpha is a separate ship to buy later.
When is the next wipe?
No wipe is currently announced. What a wipe actually touches — and why everything you paid for always survives.
Common questions
What does the Day One Citizen guide cover?
Twelve short sections covering Star Citizen in plain English, in order — from «should I even buy this?» through your first take-off. It is written for someone who has never opened the launcher, with no jargon and no assumptions about what you already know.
What order should I read the sections in?
The twelve sections are numbered and ordered, starting with whether Star Citizen is worth buying and ending with your first flight. Read them end to end, or skip ahead to the section you need via the table of contents.
How long does the guide take to read?
About thirty minutes end to end. Each section is short, and the table of contents lets you jump straight to the step you are on.
Ready to jump in?
All twelve guides are live. Not sure about a term you ran into? The glossary covers the jargon you’ll meet across the ‘Verse — plain English, no gatekeeping.