Elite Dangerous community bounces back for Distant Worlds 3

Elite Dangerous, the massively multiplayer spacefaring game first launched in 2014, has had its share of ups and downs over the years — sometimes even during the same in-game event. But after more than a decade online, there’s still nothing else quite like it: a digital rock tumbler that uses science and no small amount of in-game magic to create 400 billion different star systems you can fly through in first person.

After a solid few years of purposeful development and a full-throated recommitment to the brand, it’s clear that Frontier Developments is trying to keep it relevant as it heads into its second decade of existence. Tuesday’s announcement of Distant Worlds 3 tells me that its most dedicated players are on board, too. It’s time to see the stars again, and I can’t be more excited about the prospects — even if we’ll have to wait until 2026.

The original Distant Worlds expedition was the brainchild of Commander Erimus Kamzel, whose avatar broke new ground by traveling more than 65,000 in-game light-years to visit Beagle Point, among the game’s most distant planets. Nine years ago he recreated that trip with more than 500 players, offering a curated journey through some of the game’s most incredible locations. Just a few years later came Distant World 2, which Polygon covered in detail. What began as a small group of friends off for a jaunt through the stars quickly turned into one of the largest in-game migrations ever attempted. By launch day in 2019 more than 14,000 players had signed up for a trip across the ’verse.

Even though the game sputtered and fought nearly every step of the way, the experience was also one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen on a computer screen. The good news is that Distant Worlds 3 won’t be leaving until 2026, so that means there’s plenty of time to get familiar with the game and outfit the perfect starship for the journey.

After the recent set of updates in February, it’s clear to me that Elite is in the best shape its been in years. It even boasts a fat little development roadmap with four new starships set to release later this year. Even if you don’t have a virtual reality headset or your own homemade cockpit sitting in the basement, I highly recommend tagging along. For more on what Distant Worlds is and how it came to be, check out my deeply reported stack of feature stories. And if you’re looking to try your hand at space trucking in the year 3311, head on over to the New Pilots Initiative, a community-driven Discord which remains one of the best ways to get started in the complex game.