Frontier Developments To Discontinue Console Updates For Elite Dangerous, Will Focus On PC

"The best way to move forward," Founder David Braben wrote; stock price down dramatically from a year ago.

Jason Winter
By Jason Winter, News Editor
Share:

Elite Dangerous ship

Odyssey, the last expansion for sci-fi MMO Elite Dangerous, was "less than ideal" at launch, Frontier Developments Founder David Braben admitted in an update post today. "Whilst we have made great progress there is still more to be done," he said, noting that his team has been "supporting the pre-Odyssey and post-Odyssey codebases since."

That's a lot of work, and it's led Braben to make the difficult decision to cancel further console development on the game, which he deemed "the best way to move forward." This will allow the dev team to "focus on a single codebase" to properly advance the game's story. Elite Dangerous will continue to receive critical updates on consoles but further additional content will be limited to the PC version of the game, allowing the dev team to "focus on new content updates on PC on the post-Odyssey codebase."

Console players may be able to transfer their accounts to PC, something the Elite Dangerous Twitter account said it was "exploring" but "at present have nothing to announce."

"This was not an easy decision to make, but it was made with the long-term future of Elite Dangerous in mind," Braben concluded. That future is a little cloudy, when one looks at the stock price of the publicly traded Frontier Developments. It nose-dived in November, losing about 30% of its value in a single day, and currently trades at about one-third of its value from last April -- 1,156 now versus a peak of 3,225 on April 29 -- which might explain why Braben feels the need to make such a drastic change.

Share:
Got a news tip? Contact us directly here!

About the Author

Jason Winter
Jason Winter, News Editor
Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.

Discussion (0)


Read Next

Etlok Studios Delays Into The Echo Pre-Alpha As Team Members Evacuate Ukraine

Etlok Studios Delays Into The Echo Pre-Alpha As Team Members Evacuate Ukraine

Several remote workers are located in the country.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 year ago

You May Enjoy

Why Activision Blizzard And NetEase Partnership Really Ended: "Threats" And More

Why Activision Blizzard And NetEase Partnership Really Ended: "Threats" And More

Others say it was a misunderstanding revolving around Chinese regulations.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 day ago
New World Delays Season 1 Fellowship & Fire, Doesn't Detail The Issue

New World Delays Season 1 Fellowship & Fire, Doesn't Detail The Issue

It looks like we won't be getting the big New World update tomorrow.

By Troy Blackburn - 4 days ago
MultiVersus Open Beta To Shut Down, Full Launch Scheduled For Early 2024

MultiVersus Open Beta To Shut Down, Full Launch Scheduled For Early 2024

Player decline, lack of content, and now no game till 2024.

By Troy Blackburn - 4 days ago
Final Fantasy XIV Offers The Stormblood Expansion For Free For A Limited Time

Final Fantasy XIV Offers The Stormblood Expansion For Free For A Limited Time

Returning players can also play for free for a limited time.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 4 days ago
Amazon To Lay Off 9,000 Employees, Some Of Which Work At Twitch

Amazon To Lay Off 9,000 Employees, Some Of Which Work At Twitch

“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term."

By Matthew D'Onofrio - 1 week ago
Evil Dead: The Game Will Finally Launch On Steam With The Release Of The Game Of The Year Edition

Evil Dead: The Game Will Finally Launch On Steam With The Release Of The Game Of The Year Edition

Players can wishlist the game now and save on several DLC packs.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 day ago