The next major Star Citizen patch is now called Alpha 5.0. In the Roadmap Roundup published November 4, 2026, CIG said it has officially renamed Alpha 4.11 to Alpha 5.0 to reflect the size of what the release contains. The content has not changed: this is still the patch that opens the planet Nyx I and introduces the Genesis set of planet technologies.
A day later, on November 5, CIG ran the first Alpha 5.0 build on the Public Test Universe (PTU) for Wave 1 testers, an overnight test that has since closed. CIG has not given a release date for 5.0, and Alpha 4.10.3 is still ahead of it on the PTU. Here is what the roundup and the first PTU notes say the patch is.
Why 4.11 became 5.0
CIG’s reasoning is that several foundational technologies are landing together. The group is called Genesis, the studio’s initiative to change how planets are built, populated and rendered. The roundup lists five pieces of it as the heart of 5.0.
Nyx I will be the first planet built with these systems. CIG says it plans to extend them to Nyx II, Nyx III and existing planets across the game afterwards. Note that Nyx II and Nyx III themselves have moved: they were targeting 5.0 and are now tentatively scheduled for Alpha 5.1.
- Starchitect: a procedural world-building system that uses Genesis data to place locations across a planet and assemble them from modular pieces
- Planet Tech V5: new planet generation and rendering with more natural biomes, better vegetation and rock placement, improved terrain materials and GPU-driven generation
- Population Manager: systems for balancing server populations and filling environments with inhabitants that suit their surroundings
- Contract Boards: missions discovered in the world through Guild Halls and boards, at local, regional, global and solar system levels
- DGS Planet Subdivision: server meshing that splits planets and moons into smaller, dynamically assigned server territories instead of one server per planet
Roadmap changes in the November 4 update
The Release View moved several cards. The most visible for current players is the Lightning Bolt Company Skarnov rifle, which came forward from 5.0 to Alpha 4.10.3 and is already on the PTU. Two new Kastak Arms weapons, the Hellion plasma pistol and the Verdict light machine gun, were set to Committed for 5.0.
One feature left the Release View: Item Recovery, the ship loadout improvements that would have added timed claims, optional expedite fees, freight elevator item claims and a free recovery when a loss is judged outside the player’s control. CIG says the Tentative card needs more work and has been removed for now.
- Contract Boards: added to 5.0, Committed
- Size 3 and size 10 bomb racks sold in shops: added to 5.0, Committed
- Loot Refresh, including formerly Wikelo-exclusive rewards entering the loot pool: added to 5.0, Tentative
- Vehicle Combat Balance Pass covering fighter combat, time to kill and energy versus ballistic balance: added to 5.0, Tentative
- Kastak Arms Hellion pistol and Verdict LMG: Committed for 5.0
- Item Recovery ship loadout improvements: removed from the Release View
- Nyx II and Nyx III: moved from 5.0 to 5.1, Tentative
What the first 5.0 PTU build tested
Build 13119881 went to Wave 1 testers on November 5 and ran overnight until 20:00 UTC on the Friday. CIG describes it as the move from the earlier Tech Previews into PTU proper, with the focus on the planet itself. Nyx I got a broad environment pass: flora now only grows on ground types that make sense for it, forest colours match between close range and distance, rock surfaces gained more depth, and snow, rain and lightning were retuned for the planet’s elevations.
Atmospheric lighting was reworked so the sky responds to actual cloud cover rather than cloud type. Under heavy cloud that means brighter conditions than before, including a noticeably brighter overcast night sky. Guild halls arrived on Nyx I as physical places where contracts are picked up from mission boards, and the settlement kit around them got an art, lighting and loot pass. On the server side the build reworked the spatial systems behind planet-level server meshing and fixed nine client crashes and one server crash.
- Covalex and campsite contracts enabled, missing person missions restored, ship graveyard locations added around Nyx I
- Defensive turret health up 50 percent at sizes 1 to 3
- Ground vehicles and powersuits recoverable through insurance claims
- High Risk bounty contracts now pay 4,000 reputation instead of 2,000
- AI can use cover on planet surfaces again
The mission count behind Nyx I
CIG’s October 2026 monthly report adds a number to the Contract Boards work. The Mission Design team says more than 300 contracts are coming for Nyx I, and that it built more missions for this release than for the original launch of Pyro in about 15 percent of the time, which it credits to its modular mission approach. The point of the boards, per the report, is to keep players moving between locations on the surface without quantum travelling everywhere.
Separately, the Core Gameplay team reported that Starchitect contract generation is now roughly 15 times faster, and that contract boards show rank and faction icons, sort by required rank and name the blueprint pool each reward comes from.
What this means for new players
Nothing here changes what to do today. Alpha 5.0 has no release date, the first PTU test was a one-night Wave 1 run, and 4.10.3 and the IAE free fly come first. If you are weighing when to start, the honest answer is that Nyx I and Contract Boards are the next big shift in how missions work, but the current game is what you will be playing for a while. Read the 5.0 plans as a direction of travel, not a reason to wait. Our Star Citizen referral code guide explains how the 50,000 UEC signup bonus works and how to apply code STAR-6WPK-3K56 before you enlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. CIG renamed Alpha 4.11 to Alpha 5.0 on November 4, 2026. It is the same release with the same planned content, including Nyx I and the Genesis planet technologies.
CIG has not given a date. The first 5.0 PTU build ran for Wave 1 testers on November 5, 2026, and Alpha 4.10.3 is still on the PTU ahead of it.
Genesis is CIG’s initiative to change how planets are created, populated and rendered. In Alpha 5.0 it covers Starchitect, Planet Tech V5, the Population Manager, Contract Boards and DGS Planet Subdivision, debuting on Nyx I.
A new way to find and accept faction and guild missions in the world, through Guild Halls and boards at local, regional, global and solar system levels, with a new interface that filters by faction. The card is Committed for Alpha 5.0.
No. The November 4 Roadmap Roundup moved them from Alpha 5.0 to a tentative Alpha 5.1.
Source: Roadmap Roundup – November 4, 2026. Details come from CIG’s Roadmap Roundup of November 4, 2026, the Alpha 5.0 PTU 13119881 patch notes on Spectrum and the October 2026 PU Monthly Report.
