Even though Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) has already raised nearly $1 billion (!!!) in crowdfunding, it simply can’t seem to get any closer to the finish line.
Its extremely ambitious space simulator has long been in an ever-expanding playable alpha version. If you want to see what stage the game is at without spending hundreds of dollars on virtual spaceships, you can play it for free until Wednesday. This is all part of Star Citizen’s annual DefenseCon event. It’s a typical virtual military event that allows new and existing players to try out the largest ships in the Star Citizen fleet. We can pilot ships that would normally only be available to the most dedicated players while exploring the Star Citizen galaxy.
To play Star Citizen for free, create an account and download the launcher. The DefenseCon event takes place at the Bevic Convention Center in Area18. New players will receive an Aurora Mark 2 ship to fly to the event. Alternatively, you can show up in Area18 and take a shuttle to the Bevic Convention Center (Star Citizen features virtual public transportation). It appears that 100 ships are available, each of which can be rented for 48 hours total.
This free period follows a major Star Citizen update that implemented a comprehensive game state reset. This was done primarily to address players exploiting loopholes in the game’s economy. However, it also means that new players will find a relatively fresh universe. The update introduced a series of new mission types, including a new refueling mission that we may be able to try and a high-level Tactical Strike Group mission that we will likely not have access to during our time there.
Star Citizen is free to play until May 27. Chris Roberts’ sci-fi masterpiece is rapidly approaching its $1 billion crowdfunding goal, which it is expected to reach within weeks. Although the full game likely won’t be ready until 2028, the single-player portion, Squadron 42, could be released later this year. But we’ll believe it when we see it.
