Star Citizen Alpha 2.1 Released, New Ships and Weapon Also Now Available

Following its launch for testers in 2015, Star Citizen's Alpha 2.1.0 update is now available on the PC space game's live servers for everyone to play, developer Cloud Imperium Games has announced.

Alpha 2.1 contains an "array of bug fixes and balance updates" and, thanks to feedback from testers, should be a "significant" improvement over Star Citizen 2.0.

On top of fixes, Alpha 2.1 adds two new flyable ships to buy: MISC Freelancer ($110) and Aegis Vanguard Warden ($250). A pack that includes the Warden and another ship, the Aegis Sabre, is also available for $410, a slight discount over purchasing them individually. Head to Star Citizen's website here to get a closer look at these ships.

Cloud Imperium also teases that a "new type of mission surrounding the Covalex Shipping hub" is now available to play. Additionally, a new weapon--the Apocalypse ArmsREVENANT ballistic gatling gun--is now available (see it above). It can be mounted onto certain ships--more details are available here.

These are just a small slice of the fixes and tweaks delivered to Star Citizen through Alpha 2.1. The full patch notes, available here, go into much greater depth and detail. Cloud Imperium also says you can help with the game's production by reporting bugs and other issues in the Issue Council here

Star Citizen Alpha 2.0 was released earlier this month. Cloud Imperium said at the time that the release represented a "major milestone" in the game's development.

A release date for the final, complete version of Star Citizen has not been announced. In other recent news about the game, it has now crossed $100 million in funding. In addition we recently learned more about the role Star Wars actor Mark Hamill plays in the title.