Free Fly Events
Star Citizen, free for a week. No purchase needed.
Several times a year, Cloud Imperium opens Star Citizen up for free. Download the full game, fly real ships, explore the ‘Verse — no pledge required. This page tracks every Free Fly window, past and future.
What it is
A promotional window — usually 5 to 14 days — where the full Star Citizen alpha is downloadable and playable for free. You make a free RSI account, download the launcher, and start flying.
What you can do
Fly the loaner ships of the day, run missions, explore four planets and Pyro, dogfight, mine, salvage, trade. The whole game is open. Your character is wiped after the event ends.
What it costs
Nothing. If you decide to keep playing after the event, the cheapest game package is around $45 USD. Use a referral code on signup for 50,000 UEC free.
Drake DefenseCon — Free Fly window confirmed.
CIG has officially announced Drake DefenseCon — the 2026 rebrand of the annual military-themed event previously called Invictus Launch Week. The free-to-play window runs May 14 through May 27, 2026, hosted in-fiction at Area18 on ArcCorp. (Official RSI blog post)
Upcoming
The next likely Free Fly windows
The May 2026 window is officially confirmed by CIG. The summer and fall entries below follow a predictable annual pattern but have not yet been announced — treat them as best-guess targets and check back for confirmation.
- May 14–27, 2026Confirmed
Drake DefenseCon (confirmed)
The 2026 rebrand of the annual military-themed event previously known as Invictus Launch Week. CIG confirmed the dates and a fourteen-day Free Fly window in the “Countdown to DefenseCon” announcement. Combat ships from Aegis, Anvil, and Drake typically rotate as flyables.
- Aug 2026Possible
- Nov 2026Predicted
IAE 2026 (predicted)
The biggest event of the year. Every flyable ship is free for at least one day during the rotation. 12–14 days.
During Free Fly: use a referral code on signup.
You can use a referral code only on a brand new account. If you create your free Star Citizen account during a Free Fly and decide to pledge later, the 50,000 UEC bonus carries over to your real character. Don’t skip this step.
History
Recent Free Fly events
CIG runs Free Fly events two to four times a year. The table below shows recent windows so you can predict how long the next one might run.
| When | Event | Length | Ships flyable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | IAE 2025 Free Fly | 12 days | Every ship in the game |
| May 2025 | Invictus Launch Week | 10 days | All military ships flyable |
| Mar 2025 | Spring Free Fly | 7 days | Starter + popular trade ships |
| Nov 2024 | IAE 2024 | 14 days | Manufacturer-of-the-day rotation |
| May 2024 | Invictus 2024 | 10 days | Combat-focused selection |