Star Citizen’s IAE 2956 Brings Two Weeks of Free Flying — and a Bigger Alpha 5.0

Free fly runs November 13 to 27

Star Citizen’s biggest ship show of the year has firm dates. The Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956 runs November 13 to 27 at the Tobin Expo Center in New Babbage, microTech, and the whole game is free to play for the full event — the free fly runs from 16:00 UTC on November 13 to 20:00 UTC on November 27. Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) confirmed the dates in its “Countdown to IAE 2956” comm-link on November 6.

It is a try-before-you-buy fortnight: more than 200 ships and ground vehicles are available to try free from the show-floor rental kiosks. The manufacturer schedule starts with RSI on November 13–14, with a different manufacturer’s ships on show each day after that. Best in Show is November 22, and the Finale runs November 23–27, when every IAE vehicle is rentable at once. CIG says new ships and surprises will be revealed through the show, so the full vehicle list is not published yet.

Alpha 4.11 is now Alpha 5.0

The same week brought a bigger piece of news for the game itself. In its Roadmap Roundup on November 4, CIG renamed Alpha 4.11 to Alpha 5.0, “reflecting the significance of the new technologies and features coming together in this release.” The renumber is a statement of scope, not a new date: the roadmap places 5.0 in Q4 2026 as “Committed,” which is a planning window, not a launch day.

What is in it is substantial. Alpha 5.0 brings the planet Nyx I online, the first world built with the new technology, plus contract boards, Guild Halls, a marksman rifle (originally slated for 4.10) and two new weapons, a loot refresh and a balance pass on vehicle combat. Underneath that sits the tech that earned the renumber: Genesis and Starchitect procedural world-building, Planet Tech V5, server population tools and planet-specific server meshing. A first 5.0 PTU build opened to Wave 1 testers on November 5.

The official FAQ: Galaxy debuts on Day 1

The official IAE 2956 FAQ, posted November 10 at 21:00 UTC, filled in the show details. The RSI Galaxy makes its flyable debut on Day 1 (November 13–14, the RSI manufacturer days), and every account gets an RSI Aurora Mk II to fly for the whole event. Best in Show is November 22, and the Finale (November 23–27) opens every IAE vehicle at once.

One thing the FAQ does not change: the live game is still Alpha 4.10.2, so free-fly players do not get Alpha 5.0 or Nyx — the expo runs on the live build, and 5.0 has no live date.

CIG has been building the Galaxy up as the show’s headliner: its “Behind the Ships: RSI Galaxy” video and Comm-Link (November 9–11) put the ship front and centre — a 110 m RSI vessel with a 6-crew complement and a modular midship, making its flyable debut on Day 1 of IAE, November 13. Watching the show pays too: IAE Twitch Drops give an undersuit at 2 hours watched, armor at 4 hours and a backpack at 6 hours.

What is not dated — and not linked to IAE

Three things are worth keeping separate. First, there is no 5.0 live date, and nothing links 5.0 to IAE: do not expect to play Nyx I during the free fly. Second, the live game is still Alpha 4.10.2, which went live October 9, with 4.10.3 on the PTU — the expo itself is being tested inside 4.10.3, so the show will probably run on that patch, though CIG has given no 4.10.3 live date either. Third, no wipe has been announced for 5.0: CIG has confirmed nothing on that front, so treat any wipe talk as rumour until the studio says otherwise.

What it means for buyers

The free fly is the cheapest way to try Star Citizen’s ships: two weeks, more than 200 vehicles, nothing to pay to get in. If a ship catches your eye, try it in the free fly first and check the listing terms before spending anything — and check that any listing names Star Citizen itself, not another game’s ships. See the Star Citizen page and the Star Citizen patch notes for the verified sellers listed there.

Games in this story

Star Citizen