Elite Dangerous: Odyssey’s Alpha touches down today

Odyssey’s Alpha phase offers players their first hands-on experience with the eagerly awaited expansion

Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV) announced today the start of the highly anticipated Elite Dangerous: Odyssey PC Alpha. Available for Lifetime Expansion Pass owners and players who have pre-ordered the Odyssey Deluxe Alpha expansion pack, this Alpha phase is the eagerly awaited first contact with the new, feet-on-the-ground Elite Dangerous gameplay experience.

The Elite Dangerous: Odyssey PC Alpha phase will run over several weeks, gradually introducing players to new gameplay features and expanding the amount of content they can access. This progressive roadmap will give the Elite Dangerous development team invaluable data to adjust and fine-tune the gaming experience ahead of Odyssey’s full PC release in late spring.

The Elite Dangerous: Odyssey PC Alpha phases include*:

  • Phase 1: First Steps. Focussing on Odyssey’s core systems and network features, Phase 1 will group all Commanders in a single star system to maximize player interaction. Players can purchase the Remlock Maverick scavenger suit and the Takada and Kinematic weapon sets, and take part in a selection of activities, including salvage, collection and delivery. Players will not have access to spaceships at this stage, but in-system travel will still be possible thanks to the new Apex Interstellar feature.

  • Phase 2: Combat. Introducing Elite Dangerous: Odyssey’s first person combat experience, Commanders will have access to the Manticore Dominator combat suit. Faction conflicts will be enabled, in time for the Frontline Solutions Mercenary Company to start operations in this phase. Additionally, players will be able to travel up to 20 light years in their own spaceships, and can get involved in an expanded variety of missions, including trading with settlements in neighbouring systems.

  • Phase 3: Exploration. Expanding the playable bubble to 50 light years, this phase shall include unexplored planets and the coveted “First Footfall” experience. Commanders can now don the Supratech Artemis explorer suit and analyse alien organics with the Genetic Sampler tool.

  • Phase 4: Compatibility. In the final phase of the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Alpha, players will have access to their own Commanders, and test the inclusion of existing features in the main game, like Fleet Carriers, ship-launched Fighters and SRVs.

*Areas of play and features during the Alpha are subject to change.

Elite Dangerous: Odyssey releases on PC in late spring 2021. Prospective PC Commanders can pre-order now and secure access to the Alpha via Steam, the Epic Games Store and the Frontier Store.

Releases on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and the Xbox One all-in-one games and entertainment system are planned for Autumn 2021.

For more information, follow Elite Dangerous on Facebook, TwitterInstagram and YouTube. Visit the Elite Dangerous official website at elitedangerous.com. For media assets, visit Frontier.co.uk/media.
 
About Elite Dangerous
Take control of your own starship in a cutthroat galaxy. Some may know you as an ally; others will call you a pirate, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, an explorer, an assassin, a hero… Fly with friends, fight for a cause or go it alone. Your actions change the galaxy around you in an ever-unfolding story. Explore a detailed 1:1 model of our real galaxy, and be the first to discover one of 400 billion star systems. Start with a small starship and a handful of credits, and do whatever it takes to earn the skill, knowledge, wealth and power to stand among the ranks of the Elite.

 
About Frontier
Frontier is a leading independent developer and publisher of videogames founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the iconic Elite game. Based in Cambridge, Frontier uses its proprietary COBRA game development technology to create innovative genre-leading games, primarily for personal computers and videogame consoles. As well as self-publishing internally developed games, Frontier also publishes games developed by carefully selected partner studios under its Frontier Foundry games label.

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