Free Fly · 2026
The fastest way to know if Star Citizen is your kind of game is to actually play it. Free Fly events open the full simulation to anyone — no purchase, no demo cliff. Here is what to know.
It is the live game, opened to anyone with a free RSI account during a scheduled event window. Not a demo, not a time-limited tutorial — you log into the same persistent universe paying players are in. Outside an event window, flight is gated to a starter pack.
A few times a year, not constantly. Cloud Imperium anchors two annual events — Invictus Launch Week in May and the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo in November — and slots in shorter promo windows around them. Check freeflyevent.com for the live schedule.
Most Free Fly windows run between one and two weeks. The annual IAE typically runs the longest — close to two weeks of free access plus a rotating ship roster.
Cloud Imperium provides one loaner ship for the duration of the event, plus a daily rotating manufacturer schedule of additional ships you can test fly. The full ship roster is not all unlocked at once.
Read a 5-minute beginner primer first. Bring a friend if you can — hauling, mining, and salvage are dramatically more fun in a group. Save your first frustrations for the second day, after the controls click.
Use referral on signup
Free Fly accounts can apply the referral code on day one for the standard 50,000 aUEC enlistment bonus — the in-game starter currency. Cloud Imperium also runs occasional referral bonus promotions (free ships or vehicles layered on top); those are event-specific and not guaranteed.