The RSI Launcher is your entry point into all the released modules, which we'll be constantly expanding as we move toward the completed game.
What do I need to install and play?
In order to enjoy Star Citizen today, you'll need a Game Package. With the exception of the Squadron 42 standalone pledge, all other Game Packages contain a copy of Star Citizen and a ship. To verify you do indeed have a Game Package on your account, you can view the My Hangar screen in your RSI Account information on the website and filter by Game Packages.
After confirming you have a Game Package, its time to download the Launcher.
- Login to your RSI Account on the main RSI Website if you haven't already.
- Locate your account icon at the upper right.
- Click the light blue DOWNLOAD button to the left of that.
This will take you to the download page to start the launcher installer download! Alternately, you can click this link to go there directly.
The first option on the page will offer a link to Download and install the RSI Launcher.
Install the Game
After installing the launcher, you will be prompted to log in. Enter your RSI registered email address (or Login ID if one has been set) and password. If you have an authenticator, enter the code provided by your chosen method of authentication when prompted and set a duration that you wish for the login to be authorized.
Click Install to start the installation and when complete, you should see the following screen:
Should you have some trouble with the RSI Launcher or with installing the game, check our troubleshooting guide for assistance.
Launcher Settings
The Settings tab allows you to quickly find and manage settings for your Launcher. These include options to limit bandwidth and network resource usage for slower networks, file verification, and more!
The settings can be found by clicking on the RSI drop down in the upper left corner of the launcher window, which will give the list of options noted above. Selecting the Settings option will bring you to a screen with the options listed below.
Application
There's only one option here, which is the behavior of the RSI Launcher when you close the window. By default, the launcher will minimize to run in the background, and thus will also remain in your Windows system tray. This option will tell the app to shut down completely when the launcher is closed.
Games
This settings option will let you manage the installs of all RSI games and services available to your account. Right now, this includes Star Citizen and all of the versions available to your account, including the LIVE Alpha test servers as well as the Public Test Universe (PTU).
Additionally, if you have access to them, the Experimental PTU (EPTU) and Tech Preview servers will also show here if they are currently available.
Important details here are the install path for the games and the option to verify the game files.
- The Install Location is where in your computer's file directory system the game has been installed. Generally, it will default to the file path indicated in the screenshot below, which will be "C:\Program Files\Roberts Space Industries\StarCitizen\<LIVE/PTU/etc.>".
- If this setting does not match where your game is located, the launcher will think the game is not installed.
- The Verify button is especially important if you are experiencing frequent game crashes and errors when trying to play as it might help alleviate the problem by fixing any corrupted or broken files.
Download
Under this option players can choose to alter the download speed limit or alternately adjust how many different concurrent downloads they allow. These settings should be adjusted to your personal network needs, but the default settings are a "max" concurrent downloads and "Unlimited" download speed limit.
About
This section will show current version info about the launcher. The RSI Launcher should automatically detect an out of date version and offer a prompt to update to the latest version after starting up and logging in, but if for some reason that has not happened the version you are using can be checked here.
The latest version of the RSI Launcher can always be acquired from our download page on the RSI Website.