Account
Your empire only stays yours while you keep playing. Old Light reclaims dormant accounts so the galaxy stays full of active rivals, not ghost empires.
Idle limits
If you don't log in for long enough, your account is either removed or transformed into an NPC:
No verified email: 7 days of inactivity.
Verified email: 8 weeks of inactivity.
Verifying your email is the single biggest thing you can do to protect a long-running empire. It buys you eight times the grace period.
There's also an earlier, gentler consequence that applies regardless of email status: after 14 days of inactivity, nearby NPCs may begin capturing your stars one at a time, see Capturing. This doesn't remove your account, but a neglected empire steadily loses territory.
What "reclaimed" means
Two outcomes, depending on how much empire you've built:
Small empires (barely past the starting roster) are deleted outright. The systems return to the galaxy and can be claimed again.
Substantial empires are converted into an NPC. Every system, structure, building queue, and stockpiled resource is preserved.
A converted empire is gone for good. There's no recovery.
How to stay safe
Verify your email. Seven days disappears faster than you think.
Log in occasionally. Any session resets the idle clock. You don't have to play hard, you just have to show up.
If you're going to be away, log in once before you leave. The clock starts from your last visit, not your last build.
