Star Citizen Freeflight: The Hype and Controversy of the Roller Coaster

Star Citizen Freeflight: Hype and Controversy: Roller Coaster 206 Comments

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Until May 27, the Military Invictus Launch Week, accompanied by a Freeflight event, will once again take place in Star Citizen. It’s an in-game fair that accompanies a sales event in the Star Citizen Reality Shop.

Table of Contents Hype and Controversy: Roller Coaster Hype: Controversy: Ship Upgrades vs. Mint Now: Pay-to-Win? The Expensive Money Milestone and Another Perspective on Freeflight and the Community

The Hype

In the run-up to the fair, rumors surfaced that the Aegis Idris, one of the largest ships players can own, might actually be making its way into the fair. This ship was first introduced in 2012 and 2013 (there are two different versions), and interested players were able to acquire the 2013 version in highly limited quantities for $1,500 or $1,300 without using so-called store credits, i.e., those already in the store.

These rumors became reality, and the Idris was officially released on May 15th. Now, the ship can be used in the game by anyone who has paid the aforementioned amount in the past. With interest re-instated, you’ll have to dig deeper into your pocket, up to $1,900 plus tax. Other equipment kits worth up to $420 tax-free have not yet been considered.

The controversy (n)

The enthusiasm for this ship, which sparked a lot of hype in advance, is accompanied by two controversies.

Due to the ship’s severe limitations, many who are actually willing to pay the above amount are unable to do so. Several waves of sales were announced in advance and have now doubled in number compared to previous years. However, demand still clearly exceeds supply if you follow discussions on Reddit or in a game’s own forum and take into account the rapid sell-out of individual waves.

This sales principle exploits the FOMO phenomenon. The accusation is that Cloud Imperium Games FOMO specifically takes advantage of the artificial limitations in its own store, with the developer always citing balance as a reason, especially with its focus on the aforementioned “Idris,” as it is a powerful combat ship. However, this isn’t entirely understandable, as the IDRIS will soon be achievable if CIG remains true to its own promise and previous practice of making a new playable ship after a short time.

Ship upgrades versus mint-now pay-to-win?

The controversy over the second installment affects the initial sale of ship modules, which grant equipped ships new abilities, such as bomb suppression or SO flight blades, which improve ship handling or speed. These are now available for a selection of ships popular in the community, which is why there has been strong criticism and accusations of promoting Pay-2-Win. The developer has already responded and promised to produce the modules for the next patch in June without real money, in contrast to the procedure for ships, which can usually only be obtained a few months later through in-game currency modules with the currency at the same time. Here, it will be shown whether CIG is standing up—from the player’s perspective, this would be desirable. It is a shame that CIG has followed this path, as it leaves a threadbare aftertaste and drowns out the release of a ship that players have long been waiting for. Expensive Money

Especially regarding the second controversy, it’s also worth taking a closer look at the CIG’s financial development. The 2023 financial report was published with a delay (May instead of January). According to the report, CIG 2023 had a loss of approximately $20 million, which depleted its reserves. At the end of 2023, this figure was still approximately $42 million.

Star Citizen Income from 2012 to May 2025

2023 was CIG’s most successful year to date, with revenues of $117 million, a level just shy of $116 million the following year. However, a growing number of employees, the relocation of the Manchester and Frankfurt studios to larger locations, and the complete takeover of Turbulent in Canada are expected to contribute to the significant loss.

The 2024 financial report will not be published until next year, so it is currently unknown whether CIG will be able to reduce the deficit or continue to draw down reserves.

In itself, the project’s revenues this year will develop positively and surpass the record year of 2023 in monthly terms. If CIG can maintain this trend, a new revenue record may be imminent. Furthermore, the Los Angeles studio was closed this year as development shifted to Manchester and Canada. Other locations are located in Austin, Texas, and the already mentioned Frankfurt. Star Citizen Financials 2023

Star Citizen Financials 2023 (Image: CloudImperiumgames.com)

At the turn of the year, Star Citizen took a major technical step forward and introduced a static server hosting service. The game world is operated across multiple servers, seamlessly interconnected, and changes cannot be determined for players. Actions such as ship battles are also possible on the server. This technical solution must now be expanded and completed with dynamic server hosting, in which additional servers are added live to intercept load peaks and enable a high number of players even in a small space.

On the gameplay page, CIG shared information about the highly anticipated engineering gameplay at the CON42 convention, organized by the Frankfurt community last weekend in front of around 600 visitors. It is expected to be released this year after a delay.

Finally, the release of Squadron 42 in 2026 is imminent. This is the single-player campaign, which is expected to follow in the footsteps of Wing Commander with a high-profile lineup (including Mark Hamill, Mark Strong, Gary Oldman, and Gilian Anderson) and high technical quality. CIG gave a first look at a video at Citizen Con last year.

Freeflight and the Community

To participate in the freeflight, the following steps are required:

Download an RSI account. Download the game from the launcher.

It’s worth noting here that the game requires an SSD and, at nearly 120 GB, also requires a lot of space. If you already know other citizens, you can specify their code when creating your account. Both players will receive a bonus if the new player actually purchases a starter pack. The code cannot be added later.

Roberts Space Industries provides help getting started:

Welcome Hub with videos and FAQs, guides for new players, and FAQs at the fair.

For problems or questions, the community is also available on Techastuce, for example, in the large collective forum thread or on the Techastuce Discord server.

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Topics: simulation games, star citizen games