What it is and why you need it
To play Star Citizen, you need what’s called a game package. It contains the game access itself (digital download) plus a starter ship and a few small extras for your account.
And the good news right away: You buy this one game package exactly once. Everything else, meaning additional ships, gear or vehicles, is optional and can be earned entirely in the game.
A ship on its own without the game isn’t enough! The launcher only lets you into the game if your ship package includes the entry Star Citizen Digital Download.
You can check this at any time after your purchase in your account on the RSI website. A game package should show up under My Hangar. Then you’re ready to go.
Squadron 42, the single-player campaign, is not included in the game package and is sold separately. You’ll find more about it on the Squadron 42 page.
One pack instead of many
There used to be several starter packs in the store, each with a different starter ship: from the all-rounder Aurora to the combat-strong Avenger Titan all the way to specialists for mining or salvage. So you had to decide right when you bought the game which direction you wanted to go.
At the moment, though, you’ll only find a single pack in the store: the Star Citizen First Flight Pack. It doesn’t make the decision for you, it just pushes it back. Alongside your own ship, you get three specialists on loan for 30 days and can take your time figuring out what suits you.
The Star Citizen First Flight Pack
$60.00 $45.00 plus tax
This is what’s included in the pack:
- the game access Star Citizen Digital Download
- the RSI Aurora Mk 2 as your own ship
- 6 months of insurance for the Aurora (more on insurance)
- 10,000 UEC starting credit, and with a referral code you get another 50,000 on top
- a Self-Land Hangar
- three loaner ships for 30 days: Drake Golem, MISC Fortune and Crusader Intrepid
Nobody really knows yet what the Self-Land Hangar will turn out to be. At one point, personal hangars that you own somewhere in the ‘verse were announced. Until then, you use the public or private hangars at the landing zones just like everyone else. The private ones work exactly the same, they’re just persistent.
RSI Aurora Mk 2
The Aurora Mk 2 is the ship you keep for good. It isn’t a specialist but a flexible all-rounder that lets you take on your first delivery missions, small cargo jobs and simple combat missions without any trouble.
2 SCU
Cargo hold
4 × S2
Weapons
8 SCU
With cargo module
A big advantage is its modular design. The cargo module adds 6 extra SCU and makes it far more practical if you want to fly transport missions more often. The combat module adds extra missiles and another shield and is aimed at everyone who wants to focus on bounties and PvE combat.
The modules are not included in the pack. But you don’t have to spend real money on them, you just buy them in the game as usual once you’ve got enough aUEC together.
Without any modules, the Aurora Mk 2 stays a basic ship: It can do a little bit of everything, but nothing really well. And even with modules you have to choose, cargo space or more firepower, you can’t have both at once. For getting started, though, this very versatility is an advantage, because it helps you find out what you enjoy in the ‘verse.
The three loaner ships
On top of the Aurora, you get three ships on loan for 30 days when you buy the pack. Each of them stands for its own career: mining, salvage and cargo. That way you can try out in the first few weeks what suits you best before you commit. Once the 30 days are up, you keep the Aurora.
Use the 30 days wisely and try each of the three ships at least once. If one of them really clicked with you, that’s a pretty good sign of what you should save up for next. You can read how to get ships in the game under buying ships.
Drake Golem: Mining
The Drake Golem is a deliberately simple, compact mining ship for solo players. It has room for 32 SCU of raw materials and a fixed mining head, so it’s ready to go straight away. Its two size 1 weapons are meant for self-defense, not for hunting.
32 SCU
Raw materials
1
Mining head
2 × S1
Weapons
Its biggest drawback is exactly this fixed mining head. On the MISC Prospector you swap it for a different model and adapt your ship to whatever you want to mine. On the Golem you always fly with the same setup. For getting started, though, that’s actually handy, because it’s one less decision to worry about.
You can find out how mining works in the ship mining guide.
MISC Fortune: Salvage
The MISC Fortune is a salvage ship for solo players based on the Prospector. With just one salvage laser, you strip the hull about as fast as with the Drake Vulture, and the material ends up in a 12 SCU cargo hold.
12 SCU
Cargo hold
1
Salvage laser
2
Printers
Its big advantage: Once the buffer is full, you start the two printers at the push of a button, and they automatically attach the finished RMC containers to the outside of the ship. There’s no manual loading at all, you sit in the pilot’s seat and barely have to do more than aim your salvage beam. That makes the Fortune ideal for relaxed salvage trips.
Everything else about salvaging is in the salvage guide.
Crusader Intrepid: Cargo
The Crusader Intrepid is a small cargo ship for solo pilots that also feels a bit like a home in space. Inside, it offers a sleeping area, a small kitchen and storage for weapons and gear.
8 SCU
Cargo hold
S4
Cannon
2 × S1
Missiles
It’s handy that you can reach the cargo bays from the inside too. So you can leave a box on board and drop your loot there during the flight without having to get out. At close range the Intrepid is also nice and quick, for example when approaching the station or when things get dicey and you’d rather get out of there. You shouldn’t plan on using it for bounty missions, though.
You can read how to make money with cargo in the trading guide.
How to buy the pack
First, log in to your freshly created account on the official RSI website. Then go to the Game Packages section of the RSI store. That’s where you’ll find the Star Citizen First Flight Pack. The detail view shows you exactly what’s included. What matters is the entry Star Citizen Digital Download.
Keep an eye out for special offers too. Around events, CIG often sells the game packages at a discount, sometimes even with extra gear.
If you’re buying your first game package and don’t have any store credits on your account yet, you can also buy a so-called warbond version. I explain what that is on the pledge store page.
If you don’t like the Aurora in the long run, that’s not a big problem. You can return your pack within the refund period or later swap your ship for another one with an upgrade, without having to buy it all over again. You’ll find info on refunds, warbonds, store credits and ship upgrades on the corresponding page. And don’t forget: All ships can also be bought in the game, so there’s absolutely no need to spend more money.
Package lock: your game access stays protected
Once you’ve got your game package, RSI makes sure you don’t lose it by accident. You can’t gift your last package that includes game access or turn it into store credit, meaning melt it. That way you can’t lock yourself out of the game.
There are two separate locks: one for Star Citizen and one for Squadron 42. Which one applies to you depends on what you own. If you only have Star Citizen, there’s only the one lock.
You can still upgrade the ships in a locked package. You can read how that works under ship upgrade.
Think twice before upgrading a ship in a locked package. Since you can’t melt the package, you can’t undo the upgrade either.
Which package gets locked
If you own several packages with game access, RSI picks one automatically:
- If you have a package that’s already locked anyway, for example the VIP High Admiral package, that one is used.
- If you don’t, it’s your oldest package.
Changing the lock: deadline has passed
Until October 31, 2026, you could move the lock freely between all your packages. That deadline has passed: The lock now sits permanently on the package you picked or, if you didn’t change anything, on the one CIG chose using the rules above. It can’t be moved anymore.
Free fly events
Every now and then, CIG (Cloud Imperium Games, the developer behind Star Citizen) holds so-called free fly events. Then you can try Star Citizen with all its content for free, even without a game package, and only decide afterwards whether it’s for you.
Play Star Citizen for free:
IAE 2956 Free Fly from November 13 to 27!
Always wanted to dive into the Star Citizen universe? Now’s the perfect time! From November 13 to 27, the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956 is on, and for the whole show you can play Star Citizen completely free. In the expo halls in New Babbage, you can check out every ship, and each day brings new ones to test-fly for free. Everything about the expo is on the IAE page.
A little tip: The account for the Free Fly costs nothing. Still, create it with a referral code right away, because you can’t add the code later. If you like the ‘verse and pick up a game package at some point, you’ll get 50,000 aUEC of extra starting credit.
No code yet? Just use my referral link to sign up, so you’re ready for anything!
Referral code
Regardless of events, a referral code is worth it: If you create your account with one, you get 50,000 aUEC of starting credit for free, on top of the 10,000 UEC from the pack. That only works when you create the account though, you can’t add the code afterwards.
Feel free to use my code STAR-KQJM-Q44K or sign up directly via my referral link. I explain exactly how creating an account works under account creation.