Cloud Imperium Games is changing how pledges are gifted on the RSI store. From October 30, 2026, anything you want to give to another player has to be marked as a gift when you buy it, and it goes straight to the recipient as an email redemption code rather than sitting in your hangar first. CIG announced the change in August alongside the new Game Library system and published a FAQ on Spectrum on October 27 that fills in the details.
If you are thinking of buying a starter package for a friend, or hoping someone will buy one for you, the practical points are these: the recipient needs an RSI account with a confirmed email address, store credit cannot pay for a gift, and an unclaimed gift is refunded to the buyer after 30 days. Anything already in your hangar as a gift keeps working the old way.
What changes on October 30
Under the old system you could buy a pledge, keep it in your hangar and decide later whether to gift it. Under the new one that decision is made at checkout. Only items that show a “Buying as a gift?” option can be gifted, and a pledge bought as a gift cannot be used by the person who paid for it.
Once the purchase goes through, the gift is sent automatically. There is no option to hold it and send it on a birthday or at Christmas; if you want it to arrive on a particular day, buy it on that day.
How the recipient claims a gift
The recipient gets an email containing a redemption code. They can click the link in the email, which fills the code in for them, or go to the Redemption Page on the RSI site and type it in. The item is added to their hangar when they claim it, not when it is bought.
A few conditions apply. Both people need to be signed in to an RSI account to gift or to claim, and the recipient’s account must have a confirmed email address. It does not have to exist yet when the gift is bought: the recipient can create the account after the email arrives and then claim. Once a gifted ship is claimed, it can be upgraded with Cross-Chassis Upgrades (CCUs) like any other pledge.
- Gifts can only be paid for with a normal payment method, not store credit
- The gift never appears in the buyer’s hangar
- Badges and perks attached to the pledge go to the recipient who claims it
- Referral credit for the purchase stays with the buyer, not the recipient
- One RSI account is needed per person; you must be signed in to gift or claim
Unclaimed gifts and refunds
If a gift is not claimed within 30 days, the buyer is refunded automatically and told by email. CIG describes this as the 30-day refund period for a pledge designated as a gift, so a wrong email address or a friend who never gets round to redeeming is not money lost; it just comes back to you after a month.
What happens to gifts you already have
The new rules only apply to pledges bought after the system goes live. Existing hangar gifts and gift codes are grandfathered in and keep working exactly as they do today, and the same Redemption Page remains available for them. If you have an old gift sitting in your hangar, nothing changes for it.
The Game Library and your primary Game Access pledge
The gifting change is one half of a bigger account change CIG announced on August 27. The other half, the Game Library system, launched on October 1, 2026. It gives each game a permanent place in your account and designates one eligible pledge as the account’s primary Game Access pledge. That is the account’s non-meltable pledge if it has one, otherwise its oldest pledge.
The primary Game Access pledge is permanently tied to the account and cannot be melted or gifted. Any ship or vehicle inside it can still be upgraded with CCUs. Extra game packages and duplicate game copies keep working normally and can still be gifted where they are eligible. CIG says both changes are preparation for the launch of Squadron 42 and the move toward Star Citizen 1.0.
What this means for new players
If a friend is buying you your first game package, the process after October 30 is simple from your side: make an RSI account, confirm the email address, then claim the code when the email arrives. There is no rush to buy before the deadline, because the change does not take anything away from new accounts; it only moves the gift decision to checkout. Keep in mind that the package that gives you game access becomes locked to your account and cannot be melted later, so pick the starter ship you actually want to fly. 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
October 30, 2026. Pledges bought before then keep their current gifting options; pledges bought after must be designated as gifts at checkout.
Yes, if it was bought before the change. Existing hangar gifts and gift codes are grandfathered in and use the same Redemption Page as before.
No. Store credit cannot be used on a gift order under the new system.
If the gift is not claimed within 30 days the buyer is refunded automatically and notified by email.
No. They need an account with a confirmed email address to claim it, but they can create the account after the gift email arrives.
Source: Updates to Pledge Gifting – FAQ. Details come from CIG’s Updates to Pledge Gifting FAQ posted on Spectrum on October 27, 2026, and the original Updates to Pledge Gifting and Game Access announcement from August 27.
