Old Light FAQ

Old Light is a slow, asynchronous strategy game set in one galaxy shared by every player. You begin with a single star system and grow it, over real days and weeks, into an empire of more systems, a bigger economy, and a fleet to defend what's yours or take what isn't. It runs in your browser with nothing to install, and the galaxy keeps moving while you are logged off.

Yes. Old Light is free to play in your browser. There is an optional Premium that adds convenience and cosmetics, and nothing in it makes your empire stronger.

No. There is nothing for sale that makes your empire stronger. Premium buys convenience and cosmetics, so it cannot hand you resources or a better ship, and it cannot make a build finish any sooner. Every empire on the map runs on the same clock and the same rules, so the only edge is the one you earn by playing well.

Premium is bought with Starlight rather than by subscription, and 100 Starlight is one month. Starlight comes in packs of 100, 300 and 1200, at 4.99, 12.99 and 39.99 EUR. Every pack is a one-off purchase, so nothing renews and nothing is charged again unless you buy another. What it includes is listed on the Premium page and explained in the guide.

No. Old Light plays entirely in a web browser, with nothing to install and no app to grab from a store. You make an empire and start on your first system straight away.

Very little. It is built to be checked twice a day, around twenty minutes in total, and often less early on. Builds take minutes to hours and run in real time, so you queue what you want, close the tab, and come back to find it done. There is no stamina meter and no live event you have to show up for.

It keeps running. Your economy accrues and your fleets keep moving whether the tab is open or not, because the server keeps the world going on its own. Nothing expires while you are away and there is no login streak to maintain.

Yes. Old Light runs in any modern browser, including on a phone or tablet, with no app to install. The slow, short-session pace suits picking it up between other things.

Both. The galaxy is shared by every human player at once, and computer-controlled empires settle it alongside you. The NPC empires play by the exact same rules you do, so a neighbour is a real challenge whether a person or the computer is running it.

No. New empires get a window of beginner protection before anyone can attack them, so you have room to learn the game and grow. You can read how it works in the guide.

It comes from the same family. The economy and the fleets are the OGame and Travian side of it, and the map is the Tribal Wars side: a star system is what a village is there, so you grow by taking the systems around you until your borders meet someone doing the same. Stellaris covers similar ground as a game you buy and play in a lobby. Old Light is a PBBG that runs free in a browser, and nothing you could spend money on would make your empire stronger.

Open the menu, choose Premium, and copy your personal invite link, then send it to a friend. When they start from that link they join the same galaxy as you, so there is someone you actually know in the world with you. Inviting players who buy Starlight earns you Starlight of your own, at half of what they bought, and you can send your link to as many friends as you like.

Yes, once your email is verified, you hold at least two systems, and you have played in the last month. Old Light then publishes a profile page for your empire showing its rank, score, territory map, every system it holds and the empires nearest it, and search engines index that page. Nothing about your buildings, economy, fleet or credits is on it. If you would rather not have one, Settings has a switch that takes yours down.

It is live and playable right now, and still young. The galaxy is smaller and thinner than a game that has run for a decade, and new features land regularly.

Yes, but the sector bonus is more useful.