Elite Dangerous: Arena is free for the weekend

Elite Dangerous: Arena, the stand-alone Close Quarter Combat mode of the space trucking sim Elite Dangerous, is currently free for the taking and will remain so until 1 pm ET on July 11. And if you grab it at any time during the freebie weekend, you can keep it forever.

To be perfectly clear, this is not the full Elite Dangerous, but rather just the PvP dogfighting bit—which I'm sure a lot of people would say is the best part anyway. And there is a connection between the two, as they're cross-play compatible, and credits earned in Arena combat can be used in the full game.

Do be aware that Arena is part of the full Elite Dangerous game, so if you own that, you already have access to Arena and probably shouldn't re-buy it. That's not really an issue as long as it's free, but something to keep in mind when the price goes back up. Elite Dangerous: Arena is available from Steam or the Frontier Store.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.