Five months after the first Elite Dangerous: Horizons expansion debuted, giving players a chance to explore the surface of barren planets, Frontier Developments is preparing to launch a closed beta for Engineers, the second of four expansions planned for Elite: Dangerous.
The latest round of disclosures about the next Elite: Dangerous expansion comes courtesy of Frontier Developments CEO David Braben, who published a short update on the game’s website this week. In addition to offering a timeline for the Engineers closed beta, which will begin during the week ending May 8, Braben offered fans some idea of what to expect when the game’s next expansion officially debuts this summer.
According to Frontier Developments’ CEO, the wait for Elite Dangerous: Horizons - Engineers has been longer than average because it’s going to be one of the biggest updates in the game’s 15-month history. As it turns out, the new NPC, loot and crafting systems introduced in Engineers won’t be the only major changes we see in the next expansion. The studio also spent a fair amount of time polishing existing Elite: Dangerous content.
“There have been major Elite Dangerous deliveries every 2-3 months, with smaller point updates in between – a stunning total of 148 deliveries over the last 15 months,” Braben said. “For The Engineers we decided to take a bit longer, to ensure what we deliver is great, but also to give us a chance to revisit many of the features in the game already. This is in addition to the great new features we have already hinted at, and of course more of the story, more on the ‘barnacles’ and their origins, more on aliens, and much, much more.”
For more information on what to expect from the Elite Dangerous: Horizons - Engineers DLC, check out the entire update from David Braben. Then head down to the comments section and let us know what you’re hoping to see change in Elite Dangerous: Horizons when the space sim’s next expansion debuts this summer.
Elite Dangerous: Horizions is in development for PC and Xbox One. The second season of Elite: Dangerous expansions will continue with the summer debut of the Engineers DLC.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Elite Dangerous: Horizons coverage throughout 2016 and for however long Frontier Developments continues to support Elite Dangerous: Horizons in the months ahead.
