Before you buy
When is the next wipe?
“Wipe” is the scariest word a new player hears. Here is what a wipe actually touches, what it never touches, and what is — and is not — known about the next one.
Written by Doc_Flanigan, a veteran Star Citizen backer.
The short answer
No wipe is currently announced. Everything you buy with real money always survives a wipe. Your earned aUEC and in-game items are temporary alpha data that can be reset.
CIG says it generally tries to avoid wipes, and each update’s patch notes state whether progress carries over. That is the entire, honest picture — anyone quoting you a confirmed wipe date is guessing.
What survives, what resets
| Survives every wipe | Resets in a wipe |
|---|---|
| Your game package and alpha access | Your earned aUEC balance |
| Every ship bought with real money | Ships bought in-game with aUEC |
| Account UEC — including the 50,000 UEC referral bonus | Weapons, armor, and gear bought in-game |
| Pledge-store hangar items, skins, and insurance terms | Items stored in your in-game inventory |
| Your account, handle, and purchase history | Other saved in-game progress, as stated per patch |
The dividing line is simple: real money on one side, gameplay on the other. The official support docs are explicit that losing aUEC never affects the UEC or pledge purchases on your RSI account.
Why wipes exist at all
Star Citizen is an alpha. aUEC — Alpha UEC — is a temporary testing currency by design. When CIG rebuilds a core system, like the economy or how items persist, old data can become incompatible and get reset.
Whether a given update wipes is stated in that update’s patch notes. The phrase to look for is Long Term Persistence — when LTP is enabled, your aUEC and items should carry over. When a full wipe happens, everyone restarts with their pledge ships, their account UEC, and the starting money from their package.
This is exactly why the golden rule for new players holds: spend real money only on the one package you need. Money survives; time is the only thing a wipe can take.
So — when is the next one?
Not announced. The latest major update, Alpha 4.9, arrived on July 15, 2026 without a wipe — its patch notes state that Long Term Persistence was preserved, so earned aUEC and in-game items carried over. As of August 2026, no wipe is announced for any upcoming update. The last full wipe came with Alpha 4.8 in May 2026.
The next update, Alpha 4.10, is not out yet. It has been on the PTU — the opt-in public test servers — since July 23, 2026. CIG has not announced a release date. It says it held the update back to fix key issues and improve performance first.
Every 4.10 test build so far lists Long Term Persistence as enabled, and no wipe has been announced. That is a good sign, but it is not a promise. CIG only confirms wipe status in the final release notes. Treat 4.10 as unconfirmed until it arrives.
Practical advice: play as if your aUEC is temporary, because it is. Spend it on ships, gear, and good stories rather than hoarding it. If a wipe comes, your package ship and your 50,000 UEC bonus are waiting on the other side.
Common questions
When is the next Star Citizen wipe?
No wipe is currently announced. The latest update, Alpha 4.9 (July 15, 2026), preserved saved progress — no wipe. CIG states whether progress carries over in the patch notes of each update, and says it generally tries to avoid wipes. Heard a wipe rumor? Check it against our Star Citizen fact-check ledger — every claim there is sourced to CIG.
What survives a wipe?
Everything bought with real money: game packages, pledge-store ships, hangar items, and skins. Your account UEC balance — including the 50,000 UEC referral enlistment bonus — is also never affected. Insurance terms and your account itself all carry through.
What gets reset?
Earned aUEC, ships bought in-game with aUEC, and gear or items acquired in-game. These are temporary alpha progress — the official support docs say aUEC can change or reset as development continues.
What is Long Term Persistence?
Long Term Persistence (LTP) is CIG’s system for carrying saved progress across updates. Each patch’s notes state whether LTP is enabled — when it is, your aUEC and in-game items should carry over rather than reset.
Will Alpha 4.10 wipe progress?
Unconfirmed — and Alpha 4.10 is not out yet. It has been on the PTU test servers since July 23, 2026, with no announced release date. Every 4.10 test build lists Long Term Persistence as enabled, and no wipe has been announced. That points to progress carrying over. But CIG only confirms wipe status in the final release notes, so check those on release day.
Did Alpha 4.9 wipe progress?
No. Alpha 4.9 released on July 15, 2026 with no wipe — the official patch notes state Long Term Persistence was preserved, so earned aUEC and in-game items carried over. The last full wipe came with Alpha 4.8 in May 2026.
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Sources
Where these facts come from
Every factual claim on this page is checked against official Cloud Imperium Games sources. Dates and figures are verified against the primary RSI blog post or support article linked below — not third-party trackers.
aUEC (Alpha UEC) is a temporary testing currency that can be changed or reset during alpha; losing aUEC never affects the UEC or pledge-store purchases on an RSI account. Patch notes state per-patch whether aUEC carries over (Long Term Persistence), and CIG says it generally tries to avoid wipes.
The current live Star Citizen build is Alpha 4.9.0 (Frontier Tensions), released July 15, 2026; Long Term Persistence was Preserved — the update did not wipe saved progress.