The Star Citizen Free Fly is currently not available. The next Free Fly starts on 26 August 2025 at 1600 UTC (Noon Eastern / 9 AM Pacific in the US) and runs until 2 September 2025 at 2000 UTC (4 PM Eastern / 1 PM Pacific in the US) for the Ship Showdown Elite Eight and Finale.
One step you can take today to get ready for the next Free Fly is to set up a free Star Citizen account. Our Enlist With Referral page has step-by-step instructions for setting up an account so you can be directly notified by the Star Citizen developers when the next Free Fly starts and earn a free 50000 credit bonus.
A Star Citizen Free Fly is the only way to try the game for free because Star Citizen does not have a free trial period that is always available. Each Free Fly is a promotion that allows all players to play the game for no cost (aka "free") as long as they have a free Star Citizen account. There are usually 4 to 5 Free Fly events throughout the year, and each event is only available for a limited time.
If you want to play Star Citizen before the next Free Fly, then you will need to purchase a starter package. All the details you need to know about starter packs are on our Pick a Starter Ship page, including our recommendation for the best Star Citizen starter ship.
A Star Citizen Free Fly is a limited-time event where all players with a Star Citizen account can play Star Citizen for free. A Star Citizen Free Fly happens a few times throughout the year, and each Star Citizen Free Fly is typically 7-10 days in duration. You do not need a starter pack or starter ship to play during a Star Citizen Free Fly because a selection of ships are loaned for free to all players to fly during each Star Citizen Free Fly.
When the Star Citizen Free Fly ends, you will not be able to continue to play the game unless you own a starting package. Any progress that you make during the Star Citizen Free Fly will be saved until a wipe is performed.
Yes! You can participate in as many Star Citizen Free Fly events as you like without ever needing to purchase a Star Citizen starter pack.
A Star Citizen Free Fly is not on a set schedule throughout the year, but these other events usually have a Star Citizen Free Fly associated with them:
The next Star Citizen free fly runs from 26 August to 2 September 2025 for the annual Ship Showdown finale event.
In an unprecedented move, the Star Citizen developers cancelled the Star Citizen Free Fly that was supposed to start when Red Festival started on 28 January 2025. Stability and performance issues with Star Citizen 4.0.1 were the reasons for why the Star Citizen Free Fly was cancelled.
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