Elite (video game series)

Did You Know?

• Frontier: Elite II was the first game to feature procedurally generated star systems.
• Frontier: First Encounters was the first game to contain procedurally generated terrain and textures.
• The series holds the Guinness World Record for longest running space simulation series in history.

Main series

The Elite series began in 1984 with the original game, created by David Braben and Ian Bell. It was released by Acornsoft, Firebird, and Imagineer. This title was an early example of wire-frame 3D graphics on home computers, featuring hidden line removal and fast-paced action. It also included the novella Elite: The Dark Wheel by Robert Holdstock, the first such story packaged with a game.

The game was later adapted for almost every computer and console of the era. In 1991, Microplay Software released Elite Plus, a lightweight upgrade coded in assembly by Chris Sawyer exclusively for MS-DOS. The sequel, Frontier: Elite II, arrived in 1993, developed by David Braben and published by GameTek and Konami. Ian Bell had a minor role, and Chris Sawyer handled the PC port, adding texture mapping through a pixel-by-pixel algorithm and self-modifying code to boost performance.

Braben then founded Frontier Developments in 1994. Frontier introduced solid 3D graphics, missions, a detailed economy, planetary landings and mining, many more flyable ships, and a political system where players could earn ranks within rival interstellar empires. It was released for the Amiga, Atari ST, and IBM PC compatibles.

Spin-offs

Elite Dangerous: Arena, released on 16 February 2016 for PC and Steam, is a standalone spin-off of the CQC mode in Elite Dangerous. It features arena PVP with fast-paced spaceship combat across four arenas and three game modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the flag. Four flyable ships are available: F63 Condor, Eagle MkII, Sidewinder MkI, and the Imperial Fighter, with customizable loadouts. The Steam version was pulled from sale by 10 February 2017 due to insufficient players, though the game remains accessible via the Elite Dangerous launcher.