Star Citizen Launches Free Play Event With Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2951; New Details Shared

Today Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games launched the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2951, its annual event that highlights its ships and vehicles.

The event will last until Dec. 1, rotating manufacturers every day until the last three, which will showcase the best and brightest.

It also means that the traditional free fly event has also begun, letting everyone try the game for free for the duration of the event. You need to create a free account, but you don’t need to pledge any money for the game.

Six ships will be revealed during the show, even if we already know three, the Aegis Redeemer, the Ares Ion, and the Ares Inferno. According to the press release, a reveal from Argo will come on Nov. 25 and one from MISC will be showcased on Nov. 27.

As usual, various brands of ships will be flyable on a daily rotation, and we’re going to get humorous videos with Jax McCleary (who Jeremy Clarkson fans may find familiar) and his Stig-like assistant Jimmy.

Speaking of whom, you can see the first video below featuring the new Anvil Spartan armored personnel carrier revealed yesterday, alongside the schedule of the event, a map to reach the expo, a series of images, and a handy summary of what you can expect.

• Play for Free from Nov. 19 through Dec. 1: Download and play Star Citizen for free during IAE 2951. New pilots may sign up and start flying here.
• Test fly over 120 ships in Star Citizen for free!
• Anvil Spartan and Special Announcements: Manufacturer Anvil Aerospace will open this year’s IAE 2951, with the unveiling of its new Spartan vehicle. IAE attendees can also look forward to a brand-new ship from manufacturer Argo Astronautics on Nov. 25, and a big surprise from Musashi Industrial and Starflight Concern (MISC) on Nov. 27.
• New Manufacturers Every Day: With new manufacturers opening their IAE 2951 show halls each day, there’s an array of existing and new ships to see and test fly throughout.
• Best in Show: Starting on Nov. 28, attendees can look forward to the reveal for the exclusive ship skins and in-game leather jackets awarded to the four finalists of Star Citizen’s recent Ship Showdown event. In addition, the Ship Showdown winner, the MPUV Cargo (and its cult following) will receive a manufacturer-themed in-game backpack.
• Aegis Redeemer: Whether you find yourself dogfighting or facing off against capital ships, this heavily armed gunship puts you and your crew in the center of any battle.
• Crusader Ares Star Fighter: Attendees can look forward to two variants of the Ares Star Fighter: Inferno and Ion. While the Ares Star Fighter Ion is armed with a S7 laser cannon and excels at long-range combat, the Ares Star Fighter Inferno comes packed with a S7 ballistic gatling cannon better suited for mid-ranged engagements. Both variants of the gunship excel at dealing damage to large and capital level ships.
• Whitley’s Guide Coverage: Tune-in for coverage and updates from Jax McCleary throughout the show. The award-winning journalist and host of the wildly popular Whitley’s Guide will bring viewers the latest directly from the New Babbage Expo Hall with hot takes on the latest ship models on show, starting on the very first day.

In other Star Citizen news, the crowdfunding total has just passed $399 million and it’s currently sitting on $399,024,751.

The number of registered accounts is now over 3.3 million, and it’s at 3,343,482 at the moment of this writing.

As usual, you should keep in mind that it’s known that not all of them are paying players. The number includes free accounts created for a variety of reasons, including Free Fly events like the one happening tomorrow.

Recently, we got an extensive look at what’s coming to Star Citizen with several panels hosted at CitizenCon, while Alpha 3.15 has recently been released.

If you’re wondering whether the game is actually fun to play, this is a good place to start. A star-studded single-player campaign titled “Squadron 42” is in development.

For the sake of full disclosure, do keep in mind that the author of this article has been a Star Citizen backer since the original Kickstarter campaign several years ago.