Elite Dangerous: Difference between revisions

[[File:Elite Dangerous 2020 cover.png|right|300px]]

* [[Camera suite|Camera Suite]] is a fully functional third-person camera suite.

* Players can choose between the following game modes: Solo (single player), Private Group (only with friends and invited people) or Open Play (multiplayer, play with everyone).

* The [[Background Simulation]] is dynamic, complex and reflects the evolution of the known galaxy with ever changing power and system influence of factions in response to player behavior. Every station has its own demands and supply that change dynamically. Players on different platforms cannot directly play with each other. However, every player on every platform affects the same shared galaxy, star systems, factions and the dynamic background simulation.

All players are [[Commander|Commanders]] in the [[Pilots Federation]]. Players are distinguished by the prefix "CMDR" which is visible before their name. The ship's onboard radar displays a player as a hollow square or triangle (indicating stowed or deployed hardpoints). An NPC ship appears as a solid square or triangle.[[File:Elite Dangerous Physical Gamepack Art.jpg|thumb|250px|Elite Dangerous Physical Gamepack official art]]

Players can choose between the following game modes:

|+

!Game Mode

!Description

|-

|Single player

|-

|Only with friends and invited people

|-

Open Play means you may encounter other players who are also in open. Rendezvous with friends or encounter other players by chance. The other players can be friendly, neutral or hostile towards you. This mode has higher risks which makes it more exciting for those who like PvP (Player vs Player).

Instancing and matching players occurs via a complex system. Players on different platforms (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) cannot directly play with each other. However, every player on every platform affects the same shared galaxy, star systems, [[:Category:Factions|factions]] and the dynamic [[Background Simulation]].

Elite Dangerous has a seamless, lobby-less galaxy, with the ability to rendezvous with friends as the player chooses. People can play with up to four players in a [[Teams|Team]] or join another ship via [[Multicrew]]. This uses a combination of peer-to-peer (to reduce lag) and server connections. Frontier spent a lot of time to develop this technology which is way more complicated than a central server.<ref name=":9" /> The networking system has gradually improved since the pre-launch beta phase.

Player encounters are very rare in space due to the gigantic size of the full-scale Milky Way. Most players are active inside the [[Core Systems]] (aka the Bubble). This inhabited space has the highest concentration of players and NPCs. It has a circa 200 lightyear radius around [[Sol]] and encompasses circa 20,000 star systems.

[[File:Aulin-Enterprise-Station.png|thumb|250px|Aulin Enterprise Orbis Station]]

New [[Station|stations]] are slowly built in real time. These events create opportunities for players to do [[Community Goals]]. The resources and workers required for building must be transported to the location. It becomes a prime target for piracy and increases the demand for bounty hunting. Additionally, the alien [[Thargoids]] have returned and secrets of the ancient [[Guardians]] are being discovered.

In the tradition of the original [[Elite]] from 1984 and open-world games; there's no linear story. You can be a rich trader, a veteran bounty hunter, a feared pirate, a lonely miner, a notorious smuggler, all of them or something else entirely, based on your own actions.

The player can customize his or her character's physical characteristics with [[Holo-Me]]. It allows deep character customization which can be done at any time. For example, players can change their [[Remlok Suit]], head and facial features, gender and other cosmetics. The [[Camera suite|Camera Suite]] is a fully functional third-person camera suite. It lets players take sophisticated screenshots, make cinematic videos and fly ships in third person.

In order to allow each player to explore each career they are able to own multiple ships. Every ship can be customised to fill a certain career. Unused ships are stored in station hangars and can be retrieved by returning to that station at any time. It can also be delivered to a station near your location, as long as it has a shipyard. Here are some [[Careers|career]] examples:

[[File:Anemones-planetary-ring.png|thumb|250px|Anemones and a planetary ring]]

[[Explorer]]s have the opportunity to earn income and gain reputation by making pioneering jumps into unexplored [[Star system|star systems]], and gathering data on [[planets]], [[stars]] and other points of interest within systems. Exploration data can be sold at the [[Universal Cartographics]] tab of [[Starport]] Services. The first player who sells information about a celestial body will be credited in-game with a "Discovered By" tag on the [[Galaxy Map]].

[[File:Type-9-Heavy-Coriolis-Station.png|thumb|250px|Type-9 Heavy trader and Coriolis station]]

The [[Commodities Market|markets]] in star systems and dynamic and respond to events in the vicinity such as war, famine and blockades. This creates opportunities for players to exploit the markets by manipulating supply and demand. Players can [[Smuggler|smuggle]] goods by moving fast or use precise management of ship heat in order to slip past station security forces.

[[File:Pirates in rings.jpg|right|250px]]

Various combat events (e.g. performing tight turns, firing weapons) heat up a ship's hull, which makes the ship easier to be spotted on scanners. This in turn makes it easier for [[pirates]] and bounty hunters to locate such ships. This helps players detect on-going battles and join in.

[[File:Bounty Hunter FDL.jpg|thumb|250px|Bounty hunter]]

Consequently, many criminals seek refuge in systems with an anarchy status. Anarchy systems are ruled by a faction that doesn't enforce the rule of law. However, players are able to scan other ships in these systems with a [[Kill Warrant Scanner|kill warrant scanner]] in order to see if they are wanted in any other systems. Upon destroying a wanted ship the player can travel to the system the bounty was issued and claim it.

[[File:Type 9 mining.jpg|thumb|250px|Type-9 mining]]

Refineries have temporary bins that will store a refined product (after you've scooped it). Once each respective bin reaches 100%, the bin contents will then be automatically transferred to your cargo hold as a unit of 1, at which point it can be sold at a station.

[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Codex-Commander-Stats.png|thumb|250px|Commander stats in the Codex]]

The [[Codex]] shows your findings and progress in the [[galaxy]]. It has personal stats, session logs, discoveries in both a collaborative and individual way. It also provides encyclopedia-style information about [[lore]] topics, the latest news via [[GalNet]] and exploration data pertaining player-made discoveries of [[species]] and [[Points of Interest]] in the [[Galactic regions|Galactic Regions]].

[[File:Anaconda-Hyperspace-Jump.png|thumb|250px|Anaconda hyperspace jump]]

In 2021, [[Elite Dangerous: Odyssey|ED: Odyssey]] added [[On Foot]] features which extended the level of detail to the first person scale. Landing on planets with tenuous atmospheres became possible. Visit [[Settlement|settlements]], [[outpost]]s, [[starport]]s etc. Drive around with an [[SRV]] or walk in person to explore the surface for [[materials]], alien [[species]] etc.  

[[File:Ship-Outfitting-Fer-de-Lance.png|thumb|250px|Outfitting Fer-De-Lance]]

[[Ships]] are highly customisable via [[outfitting]]. This gives the player control over its strengths and weaknesses. Modules within each ship affect how it performs and functions. [[Thrusters]], [[Sensors]], [[Frame Shift Drive]]s, [[Power Plant]]s and more can all be swapped out to customise a ship. [[Livery]] - paintjobs and decals - are customizable too. All ship customization takes place in the outfitting screen when docked at a [[station]], [[outpost]] or [[starport]]. Anno 2024, there are 40 flyable [[ships]], 6 [[Ship-Launched Fighters]] (SLF), and the [[Drake-Class Carrier]]. They are designed by 7 ship manufacturers and each ship has a distinct spec, purpose, handling, and capabilities.

The [[Hardpoint|hardpoints]] on a ship can be stowed or deployed. Other players in your vicinity who have their weapons stowed will show up on your scanner with a square symbol. This changes to a triangle when their weapons are deployed. NPC ships have solid squares/triangles. Real players (CMDRs) symbols are hollow.

[[File:SRV-Scarab-Driving-Planet.png|thumb|250px|SRV Scarab drives on a planet]]

The first available [[Vehicles|vehicle]] is the [[SRV]] [[Scarab]]. It's primarily designed for [[Explorer|exploration]] to allow pilots to drive and jump across planetary surfaces. It's also useful for [[Miner|mining]] [[materials]]. The [[Planetary Vehicle Hangar]] module provides a hangar space on-board a ship to carry and repair an SRV. It's equipped with a [[Wave Scanner]] which is an unidirectional long-range forward facing scanner that detects a variety of vehicles and points of interest. A 2 seater combat SRV called the [[Scorpion]] was added with [[Elite Dangerous: Odyssey|ED: Odyssey]] in 2021.

[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Milky-Way-Galaxy.png|thumb|250px|Milky Way in Elite Dangerous]]

Elite Dangerous is set in a procedurally generated [[Galaxy|Milky Way]] with approximately 400 billion star systems.

* Star systems, celestial bodies are gradually aggregated over a very long simulated time from available matter, taking into account its chemical composition. Some [[Stellar Forge]] outcomes are ‘backed up’ by astronomical observations.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201112023346/https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=76df98203b Elite Dangerous Newsletter #36]</ref>

* 141 [[nebula]] in the Milky Way [[galaxy]].

* [[Star Cluster]]s with rich survey data opportunities.

* [[Constellation]]s can be seen from [[Sol]].

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[[File:Thargoid-Scouts-and-Interceptors.png|thumb|250px|Thargoid Scouts and Interceptors]]

The [[Guardians]] were an alien humanoid species which became extinct 1 to 2 million years ago.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTtiGxJIFyM YouTube: PAX East 2017 - Interview with David Braben]</ref> Their [[Ancient Ruins]] were first discovered in the Synuefe XR-H D11-102 system on October 27, 3302.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/59l4hk/cmdr_xdeath_found_the_monolith/ reddit: Cmdr xdeath found the monolith!]</ref> The decrypted data from the ruins, as well as from [[Structures]] discovered the following year, provided significant insights into the history and culture of the Guardians.

Elite Dangerous features a shared narrative which is influenced by players on all platforms. This occurs with community events like [[Salomé]], community goals and [[Powerplay]] activities. All of the meta data for the galaxy is shared between players. It's not traditional storytelling, rather an interactive, overarching narrative. Players have influenced and changed the course of events. The story unfolds in real time, in which players decide the outcomes and can be the stars.<ref>[https://www.polygon.com/2014/12/16/7402069/elite-dangerous-launch-campaign-single-player-story Polygon: Elite: Dangerous actually has a story, here's how to find it]</ref> The latest news on in-game events and remarkable stories are reported on [[GalNet]]. See the [[Elite Dangerous Timeline]] for a chronological list of events.

''"But those are stories that work for all the players. You know, if you get invited to join a secret organisation, that can happen to lots of people. And the great thing is, if it doesn't happen to you you'll go ‘oh, why have they not invited me?‘ But then that's exciting, you'll think ‘oh well, ok, I did kill that policeman the other day, maybe I need to get my reputation a bit higher."''<ref name=":1" />

[[Elite Dangerous Role Playing Game|EDPRG]] has an official description of life in ED: cheap and faster than light travel has enabled humanity to expand across the stars. This led to the rise of the [[Federation]], [[Empire]] and [[Alliance]]. These major [[factions]] attract [[Power|powerful people]] who scheme to gain more power.<ref name=":2">[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edrpg/elite-dangerous-role-playing-game Kickstarter: Elite Dangerous Role Playing Game]</ref>

The middle-classes of the galaxy can afford spaceships like cars in the 20th century. People who own spaceships gain tremendous freedom. They're encouraged to do all kinds of jobs such as delivering goods and supplies to [[Station|stations]]. For people in the bottom of society, little has changed. Space trade is seldom hampered by politics. The planet-spanning [[Mega Corporation|mega corporations]] employ entire nations and rule unchecked over vast sections of the [[galaxy]]. There's a laissez faire attitude towards weapon ownership and people are inclined to shoot first. The general lawlessness of space, navigational hazards and fierce creatures on [[planets]] make it a dangerous place.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Elite Dangerous - procedural generation|right|250px]]

''Elite Dangerous'' uses procedural generation. It is a technique where content is generated from rules. It abstracts repetitive or arbitrary elements of content creation in a very efficient way.

Imagine a medieval landscape. Laying out towns, roads, castles, farm land, forests etc. can be done by a system of rules – putting castles widely spaced out on vantage points, towns near rivers but under the protection of such a castle, roads between them, then farm land to support them all. An artist can still design the castle, the houses in the towns, but this approach greatly magnifies the content that can be created. [[Frontier: Elite II]] used this tech for star systems and planets. [[Frontier Developments]] goes much further with this technique in Elite Dangerous.

The [[Flight Model|flight model]] of Elite Dangerous has Newtonian physics with a fly-by-wire layer applied over the top to make the combat feel visceral and seat-of-the-pants, rather than [[Frontier: Elite II|Frontier]]'s jousting at huge distances.<ref name=":0">[https://www.pcgamesn.com/elite-dangerous-will-have-100-billion-star-systems-plus-thargoids-braben-reveals-whats-next PCGamesN: Elite: Dangerous will have 100 billion star systems, plus Thargoids — Braben reveals what's next]

The fly-by-wire system of [[Flight Assist]] is a ship computer which keeps the ship within flight parameters, constrains the angular and linear velocity and makes it easier to pilot. It can be turned off so you have to manually adjust the thruster forcers, but Flight Assist and fly-by-wire is always partially on to keep the ship movement in specified limits overlayed on a Newtonian mechanics model.

Elite Dangerous is a groundbreaking title for [[Virtual Reality|virtual reality]] gaming, because its one of the first major titles to offer full VR support with an exceptionally immersive experience in an all-encompassing universe. It was the go to game for many VR headset demos before the devices were commercially available. From a technical standpoint, Elite Dangerous is one of the PC’s most high-end VR titles, pushing even very powerful PCs to their limit. Elite Dangerous is designed from the ground up to support Virtual Reality and 4K Ultra HD display technology. It has Cutting-edge visual quality and performance enabled by Frontier's COBRA engine. It supports the latest displays at 4K resolution, and is built for the future with full 8K and 16K support. It's compatible with Oculus Rift, SteamVR and Vive headsets.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180324213554/https://www.elitedangerous.com/en/made-for-vr/ Elite Dangerous: Made for VR], through archive.org</ref>

The [[Elite Dangerous: Odyssey|ED: Odyssey]] expansion added [[On Foot|on foot]] first person gameplay in 2021. However, this currently does not support virtual reality. There are issues with motion sickness and the user interface that require significant changes to make VR enjoyable.

[[File:Elite_Dangerous_OST_Cover.jpg|thumb|250px|Elite Dangerous OST, released on April 1, 2015]]

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[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Limited-Edition-Box-Set.png|thumb|Elite Dangerous Limited Edition Box Set|250px]]

The Elite Dangerous Limited Edition Box Set was part of certain Kickstarter rewards which backers received. The Limited Edition Box Set contained an Elite branded polo shirt with the correct shirt size, a limited edition game pack (copy of the game), a paperback novel of [[Elite: Legacy]], the original soundtrack, an Elite pin badge which worked as a fastener and a personalized letter written by [[David Braben]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire OBE] for each of the 7,000 recipients. It all fit into a bespoke shipping carton and was distributed to 7,000 individuals worldwide. It was designed so that owners felt like they received something special. This boxed set was nominated and ‘Highly Commended’ in the 2015 British Luxury Packaging Design Awards.<ref>[http://www.bridgemediagroup.com/Blog/files/tag-elite-dangerous.html Bridge Media Group: Elite Dangerous], through archive.org</ref>

[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Official-Key-Art.png|250px|thumb|Elite Dangerous official key art]]

[[David Braben]] explained the story behind the name: ''"This is Elite 4, but I wanted something that was a fresh start. We looked at the story behind the other names. So Frontier is because the key thing with Frontier versus Elite is the action takes place on the periphery, on the frontier. Because logically from a story perspective if you imagine sort of cowboy semi lawless worlds they will tend to be on the frontier of human space. The core systems will be a lot more secure. You wouldn't get unruly systems so close."''<ref name=":8" />

Dangerous is the third best rank for members of the [[Pilots Federation]] and the galaxy is dangerous. Here's related lore: ''"Relentless, increasingly well organized piracy and the need to maintain their reputation and influence as the best of the best caused the Elite Pilots Federation to start opening its membership to candidates from the Deadly rank who were able to pass a rigorous test and then, as demand continued to soar, to those from the Dangerous rank."''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200517111759/https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=f72c0f91b2 Elite Dangerous Newsletter #22]</ref><ref>Elite Dangerous - Digital Art Book</ref>

''Elite Dangerous'' has a fixed, one-time purchase price, and no subscription fees or free-to-play fees. After purchasing the game, it can be played at any time provided that the owner has an adequate internet connection and the servers are online. Only one player profile is permitted per account, however, and players who wish to have multiple profiles must purchase multiple accounts.

All microtransactions are [[Livery|cosmetic]] except [[Ships|Pre-Built Ships]] which give newbies a jump-start in a [[:Category:Careers|career]]. In order to purchase cosmetics, players must first purchase a denomination of the microtransaction currency [[ARX]]; players can also earn up to 400 ARX per week through normal gameplay.

[[File:Edge-Magazine-Elite-Dangerous-Rebirth-of-a-Legend.png|thumb|250px|Edge magazine, Elite Dangerous - The Rebirth of a Legend]]

At the 2011 Game Developers Conference, [[David Braben]] gave the presentation [http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014628/Classic-Game-Postmortem Classic Game Postmortem - ELITE]. During the Q&A, an audience member asked, ''"Is Elite 4 still on the drawing board?"'' Braben answered, ''"Yes, it would be a tragedy for it not to be."''<ref>[http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014628/Classic-Game-Postmortem GDC Vault: Classic Game Postmortem]</ref>

[[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] had been working on the game as a "skunk-works" background activity for some time prior to its Kickstarter launch. Other projects were prioritized. It ''“...has been worked upon by a small team as a ‘skunk-works’ activity in the background as availability permits”''<ref name=":10" /> Elite Dangerous uses Frontier's own state-of-the-art in-house COBRA Engine tools and technology. COBRA has been carefully planned, developed and evolved since 1988.<ref>[https://www.frontier.co.uk/node/639 Frontier: COBRA DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS]</ref>

Elite Dangerous was first announced to the public on November 5, 2012.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/EliteDangerousOfficial/posts/10152235720990564?__tn__=C-R Facebook: Elite Dangerous, 5 Nov 2012]</ref> Over a quarter of a century after the original, David Braben of [[Frontier Developments]] launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in November 2012. The purpose was to test-market the concept, verify whether there's broader interest in a fourth game and to raise funds to help make the game.

Braben wrote, ''"We’re using Kickstarter both as a means of test-marketing the concept to verify there is still interest in such a game that extends beyond the individuals who regularly contact me about the game, and raising the funds to do so. There is also the fact that as long as we hit the threshold, it commits us to making the game."''<ref name=":10">[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/06/elite_dangerous_on_kickstarter/ The Register: Classic game 'Elite' returns … on Kickstarter]</ref> By April 2014, £1.7m had been raised.<ref>[http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/DAVID-ELKS-thesentinel/story-20992380-detail/story.html The Sentinel: David Elks: Gaming industry is worth the investment], through archive.today</ref> This was a fraction of the total budget for developing the base-game, Elite Dangerous (1.0). At Gamescom 2014, Braben said, ''"The original budget, because we put a lot of our money towards it, was £8m, it's grown by quite a lot."''<ref name=":11">[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-09-11-elite-dangerous-original-budget-was-8m Eurogamer: Elite: Dangerous' original budget was £8m]</ref>

Discussion in the DDF was closely focused on proposal documents written by Frontier staff as part of the game development process, which were then posted for discussion. Frontier have stated that all posts in the DDF were read by the development team, and developers frequently engaged in discussions and dialogue on the forum, sometimes starting polls to gauge community feeling. However, the final decision on all aspects of development remained with Frontier.

[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Alpha-1.0-Dec-2013.png|thumb|250px|ED Alpha 1.0 December 2013]]

In December 2013, a playable alpha version of the game was released to Kickstarter backers who pledged pledged £200.<ref>[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-12-12-elite-dangerous-now-playable-if-youre-a-200-alpha-backer Eurogamer: Elite: Dangerous combat now playable if you're a £200 alpha backer]</ref> In May 2014, the game entered the first phase of beta testing. The focus was primarily on testing the systems and servers with a greater number of players. A pre-release "gamma" build was released to backers three weeks before launch to give them a head start.

Elite Dangerous (1.0) was developed and published by Frontier Developments and the Windows PC version launched on December 16, 2014. Since then it has had many updates and launched on multiple platforms.

The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GxJbOMaXa0 Elite Dangerous Premiere] was held in November 2014. There were interviews, videos, speeches, reveals, prize giveaways and a detailed [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQXgcV3JMrY 1:10 scale model] of the Cobra MkIII.<ref>[http://daftworks.co.uk/eliterpg/index.php/Elite_Dangerous_Launch_Event Daftworks: Elite Dangerous Launch Event], through archive.org</ref>

[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Premiere-Cobra-Model.jpg|thumb|250px|Elite Dangerous Premiere Cobra Model]]

Post-launch it can be estimated that the development budget for Elite Dangerous is in the tens of millions of pounds or more when major updates and expansions are included such as [[Elite Dangerous: Horizons|ED: Horizons]] (2015), [[Elite Dangerous: Beyond|ED: Beyond]] (2018) and [[Elite Dangerous: Odyssey|ED: Odyssey]] (2021).

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* 0.042% of the [[galaxy]] explored

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On May 26, 2017, the producer for the Elite Dangerous PS4 version Lloyd Morgan-Moore said, ''“The Elite Dangerous team is over a hundred people strong, and while we have a dedicated PS4 team to handle things like PSN infrastructure, everyone is working on content which will appear simultaneously on all platforms. We don’t regard platforms separately when it comes to content."''<ref>[http://www.redbull.com/en/games/stories/1331858657533/elite-dangerous-ps4-interview Red Bull: The tech behind Elite Dangerous’s PS4 debut]</ref> The team size was confirmed by a few people who visited the Frontier offices during the week of June 9, 2017.<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/my-visit-to-frontier-developments-and-the-future-of-the-game.356790/ Frontier Forums: My visit to Frontier Developments and the Future of the Game]</ref>

[[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] uses an iterative approach with development. They gradually build upon features to expand and improve them. Expansions and major updates will bring [[Development Plans|various new features]] to Elite Dangerous. Some of these were available in previous Elite games and some are completely new to the [[:Category:Elite series|Elite series]]. [[Horizons]] is the first expansion which consists of a season with major updates that add many new features, content and improvements to the Milky Way. [[Elite Dangerous: Beyond|Beyond]] is the third season of expansions which will add 2 major updates and 2 content updates through 2018.

For example, the roadmap is to add these features with major updates (in no particular order): <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201221021448/https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=1824c0b05a Elite Dangerous Newsletter #29]</ref> <ref>[https://www.pcgamesn.com/elite-dangerous/elite-dangerous-standard-beta-begins-next-week-last-chance-grab-lifetime-expansion-pack PCGamesN: Elite: Dangerous standard beta begins next week; last chance to grab lifetime expansion pack]</ref>

* [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Can I walk around the ship.2C planets and space stations.3F|Walking around interiors and combative boarding of other ships]]. - see [[Space Legs]].

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Check the [[Elite Dangerous Reception and Awards]] page for information about the reception by the press and awards.

''Elite Dangerous'' sold around 1.7 million franchise units by the end of May 2016. The term "franchise units" combined all sales of the ''Elite Dangerous'' base game and the ''Elite Dangerous: Horizons'' expansion.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161016145046/http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/FDEV/12881582.html London Stock Exchange: Frontier Developments plc Full year trading update], through archive.org</ref>

* By the end of December 2016, this rose to over 2.1 million franchise units.<ref>[http://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/frontier-dev-FDEV/share-news/Frontier-Developments-PLC-Trading-Update/73616476 ADVFN: Frontier Developments PLC Trading Update]</ref>

In 2019, ''Elite Dangerous'' made more than £100 million ($133m) in revenue. This is a traders quote from the investment firm Liberum in 2019: ''"The company is working on a number of exciting updates for both franchises and our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20."''<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/aoc8ue/liberum_our_expectation_is_that_we_could_see_a/ reddit: Liberum: "our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20, five years after launch"]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Br0Ue1-eE YouTube: Frontier's Financial Position and the Future of Elite Dangerous]</ref> By 2020, ED generated more than £100m ($131) of revenue which first released in December 2014<ref>[https://www.financialdirector.co.uk/2020/10/23/frontier-developments-cfo-on-strength-of-video-games-market/ Financial Director: Frontier Developments CFO on strength of video games market]</ref>

In March 2021, Elite Dangerous had an estimated 500 thousand monthly active players according to stockbroker report by Liberium.<ref name=":4" /> They log into the game on a regular basis and at least once per month, and only count players that are active instead of those who got the game from the Epic Games Store for free. The release of Odyssey seeks to attract 3.5 million inactive players back to the game.<ref name=":4">[https://massivelyop.com/2021/03/24/elite-dangerous-has-an-estimated-500k-monthly-active-players-according-to-stockbroker-report/ Massivelly Overpowered: Elite Dangerous has an estimated 500K monthly active players according to stockbroker report] </ref>

The table below lists the 10 highest records for concurrent ''Elite Dangerous'' players on the Steam platform according to Steam Database.<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/selite-dangerous-steam-just-set-a-new-4-year-record-for-concurrent-cmdrs-the-highest-since-nov-2015s-ath.541687/ Frontier Forums: Elite Dangerous (Steam) just set a new All Time record for concurrent CMDRs, beating previous highest in Nov 2015]</ref>

|#6

|May 24, 2021

|-

|#7

|22,244

|-

|June 14, 2020

|21,734

|-

|#9

|20,742

|-

|March 29, 2021

|20,186

|}

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File:Elite Dangerous Trailer