Happy Monday, everyone!

Ladies and gentlemen, pilots and ground-pounders, it's time once again for the biggest aerospace smackdown in the 'verse: the arena opens for Ship Showdown 2956 this week! This year's contenders, flyable and drivable, are stepping into the ring for one shot at the title. YOU decide: who reigns supreme?

Phase one is all about the crowd, so get loud, rally behind your champion, and shove your pick into the Top 16 by any creative means necessary: snazzy screenshots, swingin' songs, masterful machinimas, whatever gets your favorite noticed; throw it in the ring. Stay tuned for more details as the showdown begins on July 28.

Manufacturer rivalries aside, this week also brings the launch of Foundation Festival, a celebration of just how welcoming and inclusive this community truly is. Pilots who've seen it all are always ready to share what they know with the ones just getting started. Battle-scarred veteran or fresh-faced rookie, there's something in it for you, including festival-themed rewards, Twitch Drops, a Free Fly, and a refresh to both the Welcome Hub and the Guide System. Full rundown coming your way soon.

Behind the scenes, we've also got some additional fixes rolling out this week, some as early as later today if all goes well, including a few addressing connectivity issues some of you ran into last week. While we continue improving Alpha 4.9, progress on Alpha 4.10 is well underway, currently in Wave 1 on the PTU. The team is working toward opening up to more waves soon, and your feedback helps us tighten every bolt along the way, so keep an eye out for your chance to jump in.

Now, let's see what's going on this week:

Tuesday kicks off the return of Ship Showdown, where your favorite flyable/drivable vehicles go head-to-head for ultimate glory. Phase 1 is all about nominations, so rally behind your top pick and make some noise to get your faves in the Top 16 (and potentially take home a ship for doing so)! We'll share more details tomorrow, so get ready for Shiiip Showdooown!

On Wednesday, Foundation Festival fires up, bringing festivities to celebrate the folks who make the 'verse feel like home: the community.

Wednesday also sees the latest Roadmap Update alongside its complementary Roadmap Roundup, so be sure to check both out for a glimpse of what's coming down the road.

Come Friday, the RSI Newsletter swings by your inbox with the week's highlights from across the 'verse.

Fly low, and fly fast!

The Weekly Community Content Schedule

MONDAY, JULY 27, 2026

This Week in Star Citizen

TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2026

Ship Showdown 2956 - Phase 1 Commences

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2026

Foundation Festival Kicks Off

Foundation Festival Free Fly Begins

Roadmap Update

Roadmap Roundup

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2026

RSI Weekly Newsletter

Vision quest truth

Smuggling Origin 300

We offer this World to the Galaxy as a place to study and a place to meet We offer this World to the Entity as a place to study and a place to meet Known locally as Pinecone, this Poisonous Main Sequence Dwarf is situated on the further edge of the green band and is often overlooked when compared to Kallis VI Damn right it is. Point is, no damn AI system's ever gonna be as good as an experienced Chief engineer

Known locally as The Hive, this High-pressure Coreless Planet is situated on the further edge of the green band and is often overlooked when compared to Kilian XIII "Maybe you should have a Engineer have a look at you. Be sure." said Hester Polaris A further investigation of the planet revealed a cache of Kr'Thak weapons and war machines. "We don't have anythCore." Ernst said. The Being didn't like that answer.

COMMUNITY MVP: July 27, 2026

We're constantly amazed at the contributions made by the Star Citizen community. Whether it's fan art, a cinematic, YouTube guide, or even a 3D print of your favorite ship, we love it all! Every week, we select one piece of content submitted to the Community Hub and highlight it here. The highlighted content creator will be awarded an MVP badge on Spectrum and be immortalized in our MVP section of the Hub.

Visit the Community Hub.

Bar Citizen Amsterdam

by Illusive-man-TC

Bar Citizen Amsterdam came together with Jenvia at the helm and Illusive-man-TC helping organize and capture it all on camera. From the looks of it, a fantastic time, pilots from around the world showing up in person to share a drink, claim their pickles, and swap stories.

Head over to the Community Hub to see the full album, plus photos from other attendees who were there too.

Top Images from the Community Hub

Don't forget to submit your content to our Community Hub for the chance to see it here!

Returning to Levski, Full of Ore - iNEEDAPEA

SIZE - Star-i

Patroling the Sand - Dr-Fischer

Nine Lives To Live Redux - DRAG0NAUT