Currently in beta, the Elite Dangerous: Horizons expansion has been given a release date of 15 December. Horizons will be a ‘Season’ of updates, so while it’ll begin with the addition of planetary landings, there’s a bunch more planned for 2016.
At launch, you’ll be able to crash into delicately touch down on billions of planets and roam about on their surface in a buggy (assuming you’ve made the correct in-game equipment purchases with your hard earned trading/mining/murdering people money). After that, here’s what Horizons has planned:
- Loot and Crafting, unlocking a world of customization options and adding new value and meaning to every action.
- Multicrew, allowing teams of players to assume roles aboard the same ship.
- Commander Creation, giving a unique appearance to players’ in-game avatars.
- Ship-Launched Fighters, allowing larger spacecraft to carry their own short-range fighter ships for attack and defense.
- New Missions and Ships, expanding the already massive amount of playable content.
- New Close Quarter Combat (CQC) Arenas, providing additional challenges to prove multiplayer superiority.
If you’ve pre-ordered the Elite Dangerous: Horizons package, you should be able to start playing as part of the ongoing beta right now.
For a look at some of those possible planetary landings in glorious moving-o-vision, have a look at this trailer.
