Star Citizen's biggest free trial is live now, with nearly 200 ships available for you to try

Star Citizen has earned itself a reputation over the years, and rightfully so. Not only is it one of the biggest space games in terms of in-world scale, but it's comfortably outpaced its rivals when it comes to budget, with its combined crowdfunding and sales passing the $800 million mark earlier this year. That makes it a particularly intriguing black box to peer into, but one that can also feel a little intimidating; now is the perfect time to try, however, as you can currently play Star Citizen for free with a gargantuan list of ships available for testing.

The latest Star Citizen Intergalactic Aerospace Expo, IAE 2955, has just kicked off. It's an annual in-game event celebrating "everything that makes space travel throughout the universe special, with a showcase of the greatest spacecraft and vehicles ever built." This year, it's being held in Orison, a Cloud City-style network of floating platforms in orbit of the planet Crusader. From there, you can wander about and enjoy the showcase, and if you see a ship that catches your eye you'll have a chance to jump in and try it out.

In case you haven't kept up with everything going on in Cloud Imperium's universe, it's actually a big time for Star Citizen in several ways. CIG has just launched Star Citizen alpha 4.4 onto live servers; this latest chapter is packed with additions, but most notably opens up the new star system Nyx for exploration. There are also more missions, extra weapons, and even a rework to player injuries that removes one of the biggest frustrations with on-foot exploration.

You don't need to worry about that too much if you're jumping in for the first time, however; your best bet is to head to Orison and check out everything that IAE 2955 has to offer. You'll be able to "explore the latest offerings from the last 12 months, perennial classics built for every type of pilot, and try nearly 200 ships for free." Given that buying a new spacecraft can set you back anywhere from the cost of a new game to the price of a full gaming rig, being able to test out any that interest you is a huge boon, even for existing players.

The event runs through Wednesday December 3, and the list of available crafts rotates periodically through various in-universe manufacturers. However, towards the end of the festival on Saturday November 29 you'll be able to try all four finalists from the annual community-voted Ship Showdown. The RSI Polaris was the winner, while the Anvil Asgard, Anvil Gladiator, and RSI Zeus Mk II ES came in as the runners up. From this day until the end of the expo, all ships will be made available for test flights from the Vision Center.

CIG has taken some great strides in recent years to make Star Citizen feel a little more approachable, from improved in-game tutorials to extensive written beginner's guides that walk you through everything from setting up and taking off in your ship to finding and completing activities around the universe. Simply put, if you've ever been curious to figure out what the heck Star Citizen actually is, this is your best chance to do so.

Star Citizen is free to play during the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2955, which runs from Thursday November 20 until Wednesday December 3. Head here to begin your adventure. There are also additional recruit-a-friend bonuses during the event; the referrer will grab a Star Kitten skinned Drake Dragonfly, while the newcomer gets a Star Kitten set of racing gear.