Star Citizen is free-to-fly for the next week

Star Citizen is a tricky bit of business. Some people see it as a grand work-in-progress, building toward the videogame of a lifetime, while to others it's little better than a scam, bilking its naive followers of literally millions of dollars, with no end in sight. And of course, there are the great many people who haven't really formed an opinion one way or the other. But no matter where you fall on that spectrum, this much is certain: For the next week, it's free. 

The "Summer Free Fly" week is exactly what it sounds like: A chance to play the latest Star Citizen alpha without having to pay for it. All you need to do is go to the appropriate page on the Roberts Space Industries site, log in or sign up, enter the “Summer Free Fly 2016” coupon code, and then download and install. Once you've got all that squared away, the stars are yours—through July 22, anyway. 

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.