How to Get & Install Freelancer

Finding a Copy

Freelancer is not on Steam. It's not on any digital storefront. Microsoft published it in 2003 and has made no move to re-release it digitally in the more than two decades since. This is stated plainly because it's the most common point of confusion for new players: there is no buy button anywhere. The only legitimate purchase option is a physical disc.

The good news: physical copies are cheap and findable. The game sold well in 2003 and physical copies have been circulating the second-hand market since. Here's what to search for.

On eBay, search: "Freelancer PC 2003" or "Freelancer Microsoft PC". You're looking for the standard jewel case CD-ROM release — there is only one edition, no collector's version, no special edition. Prices typically run $5-15 USD including shipping. Disc condition matters more than box condition. A scratched box with a clean disc is fine. A mint box with a scratched disc is a problem.

Retro game shops, second-hand game stores, and charity shops in areas with older gaming inventory are other sources. The game is not rare — it's just analog.

What you're getting: one CD-ROM disc. The game installs about 1.8 GB of data. There is no DVD edition.

Installation on Modern Windows

The installer will usually run on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Sometimes it needs a nudge.

Step 1. Insert the disc. If the installer doesn't auto-run, open the disc in File Explorer and run setup.exe manually.

Step 2. If the installer fails or refuses to run: right-click setup.exe → Properties → Compatibility tab → check "Run this program in compatibility mode for" → select Windows XP (Service Pack 2) → Apply. Then run the installer again.

Step 3. Run the installer as administrator. Right-click → Run as administrator. This is required on Windows 10/11 and skipping it causes silent failures.

Step 4. Note the installation path. The default is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Freelancer. You'll need this path for patches. Do not change it unless you have a reason.

Step 5. After installation completes, verify the game files are present. Do not launch the game yet. Apply patches first.

Essential Patches — In Order

Order matters. Apply these in sequence.

1. Official 1.1 Patch

This is the only official patch Microsoft released. It fixes stability issues, corrects several bugs present in the launch version, and must be applied before anything else. Do not skip it.

Where to get it: The Starport (the-starport.com) hosts a verified copy in their downloads section. ModDB also has it. Search "Freelancer 1.1 patch official". Do not download it from random file-hosting sites — use The Starport or ModDB.

2. Widescreen / Resolution Fix

The game ships at 4:3 aspect ratio only. On a modern widescreen monitor, this produces black bars on both sides and a letterboxed feel. The widescreen fix patches the game to support 16:9 and other modern resolutions.

Where to get it: The Starport downloads section. Search "Freelancer widescreen fix". Apply according to the readme — it typically requires editing the resolution value in the game's configuration files or replacing a DLL.

3. FPS Uncapper

Freelancer's physics simulation runs internally at 30 frames per second. On modern hardware that renders much faster than this, the mismatch causes bugs: ships fly erratically at high speeds, physics interactions behave oddly, and the general feel of the game suffers. The FPS uncapper patches this cap out.

Where to get it: The Starport downloads section, same search as above. Some community packages include the widescreen fix and FPS uncapper together.

4. No-CD Patch (if needed)

If you own the physical disc, you legally own the game. Running the game requires the disc to be present, which is inconvenient and will eventually fail as disc drives become less common. A no-CD patch removes this check. You own the disc — using a no-CD patch on a disc you own is not piracy. It is making your legal copy usable.

Where to get it: The Starport. They host a verified no-CD patch specifically for Freelancer owners with original discs. Do not use random no-CD patches from sites you don't recognize.

GPU Compatibility — dgVoodoo2

This step is required for most modern discrete GPUs (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel Arc).

Freelancer was written for DirectX 9. Modern graphics drivers handle DirectX 9 content in a compatibility layer that sometimes produces rendering errors: glitching, missing textures, crashes on certain hardware. dgVoodoo2 is a graphics compatibility wrapper that intercepts DirectX 9 calls and translates them to DirectX 11 or 12, running them cleanly on modern hardware.

How to set it up:

Step 1. Download dgVoodoo2 from the official site: http://dege.fw.hu/dgVoodoo2/ (verify this is live — check Wayback Machine if needed). The official source is important; do not download from mirrors.

Step 2. Open the dgVoodoo2 zip file. Navigate to the MS folder. Copy the following DLL files: D3D8.dll, D3D9.dll, D3DImm.dll, DDraw.dll.

Step 3. Paste these DLL files into the Freelancer executable directory — the folder containing Freelancer.exe. Default location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Freelancer\EXE.

Step 4. Run dgVoodooCpl.exe (the control panel, also in the dgVoodoo2 zip). Set the output API to DirectX 12 (or 11 if 12 causes issues). Enable the DirectX tab options as needed — defaults work for most players.

Step 5. Launch Freelancer. If it loads without the previous rendering errors, you're set.

Multiplayer Setup

Microsoft shut down the official Freelancer master server at some point after the game's commercial lifespan ended. The server browser that the original game connects to no longer responds.

Community developers wrote a replacement. Freelancer Open (FL-OS) is a community-maintained server browser system that redirects Freelancer's server query to a community-maintained list. Installing it restores the ability to see and join active multiplayer servers.

Where to get it: The Starport's multiplayer documentation section has current instructions and the download link. Follow their guide — the setup process has changed across versions and their documentation is current.

Most active multiplayer servers as of 2026 run mods — primarily Discovery Freelancer. Vanilla multiplayer servers exist but are less common. If you want to play vanilla with other people, the community Discord is the place to coordinate.

Common Problems and Fixes

"Cannot find disc" error after installation: Apply the no-CD patch (see Essential Patches above).

Game crashes on startup or at the main menu: Most likely a DirectX 9 compatibility issue. Install dgVoodoo2 (see GPU Compatibility section).

Game runs at extremely high or low speeds: Missing FPS uncapper. Apply it from The Starport.

Black bars on a widescreen monitor: Missing widescreen fix. Apply it from The Starport.

"This app can't run on your PC" on the installer: Right-click the installer, Properties, Compatibility mode, Windows XP Service Pack 2. Run as administrator.

Multiplayer shows no servers: The official master server is offline. Install Freelancer Open (FL-OS) from The Starport to restore server browsing.

Stuttering or hitching during flight: Can be caused by several things. First, verify the FPS uncapper is applied. Second, check that dgVoodoo2 DLLs are in the correct directory. Third, lower the detail settings in Options if hardware is the bottleneck.

What to Do After Installation

Once the game launches cleanly:

Start with the campaign. Manhattan, New York system. Talk to everyone in the bar. Accept the first mission. The game will teach you the controls through the opening sequence — it's brief and functional.

After the opening missions, stop in the first bar you reach and click on every NPC. The bartender will have rumours. Those rumours are the first layer of the world. The game rewards players who pay attention in bars.

For visual improvements beyond the widescreen fix: the Freelancer HD Edition mod bundles upscaled textures with the compatibility patches in a single package. It's the recommended starting point for visual improvements. The Mods Worth Playing article covers it.

For a full community and help: The Starport forum has documentation for every problem and question that has come up in twenty-plus years of play. If something is broken, the answer is probably already there.

Sources

• The Starport — Freelancer compatibility and patch documentation: https://the-starport.com
• ModDB — Freelancer page and patch links: https://www.moddb.com/games/freelancer
• dgVoodoo2 official site: http://dege.fw.hu/dgVoodoo2/ (check live status)
• Community documentation via The Starport patch threads