What you need to know
- Elite Dangerous: Odyssey released on PC last year as a massive expansion for one of the best sci-fi space flight simulators.
- Unfortunately, the expansion never came to consoles, and it's been revealed that it never will.
- Frontier has announced that console development for Elite Dangerous has been indefinitely shelved, with the studio focusing on PC.
- Xbox and PlayStation versions of Elite Dangerous will continue to function and receive critical updates, but no future content is planned.
Elite Dangerous is one of the premier sci-fi space flight simulators you can currently play, and Frontier Developments has continued to build on it with regular updates and support. In May 2021, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey released on PC as the title's most ambitious and feature-packed expansion yet, but was delayed on consoles. Now, that delay is extending indefinitely.
Frontier Developments has revealed that Elite Dangerous development on consoles is canceled, with the studio focusing solely on improving Elite Dangerous: Odyssey on PC. David Braben, CEO of Frontier Developments, cited difficulties managing two codebases (pre-Odyssey on consoles and post-Odyssey on PC) being the driving factor behind the tough decision.
"Over the last several months, we have been wrestling with the best way to move forward, and it is with a heavy heart we have decided to cancel all console development," Braben lamented. This means Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, nor any future content updates, are planned to release on Xbox or PlayStation platforms, with the game effectively becoming PC-only into the future. "This was not an easy decision to make, but it was made with the long-term future of Elite Dangerous in mind," Braben concluded.
The console version of Elite Dangerous will continue to function as it currently does, with critical updates released when necessary. However, players enjoying the title on consoles, including current-gen systems like Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, will be bereft of fresh content and new features. For all intents and purposes, Elite Dangerous is now frozen in time on consoles, while the PC version of the game will continue to improve further.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is one of the best PC games sci-fi fans can play, but it has suddenly become much more difficult to recommend on console platforms. Console players interested in transferring to PC are currently left without an avenue to keep their progress, but Frontier Developments is exploring options to enable this for players.
