The SF-MMORPG Elite: Dangerous from 2014 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox) has been off many people’s radar. It fades in the hype around Star Citizen. However, Elite Dangerous has been live for 10 years in contrast to the competition and received a major new update on February 26, 2025: Trailblazer. The most important feature: Players can now colonize systems and claim planets.
What does the new update bring? The new update for Elite Dangerous mainly brings the ability to colonize star systems.
The developers say: Although the system is still in a beta phase, progress will already be permanent. They are looking at the feature in live operation and will make adjustments.
Elite Dangerous gives players their own star systems
This is how the colonization works: The idea is to find a contact person and claim a previously uninhabited star system from them. Because the galaxy is so large, players can make important strategic decisions:
- Will they claim a system that is conveniently located and near other systems
- Or will they claim a particularly attractive system with many planets, even if it is far away
Once a system is claimed, it is necessary to supply the system with resources and reach a primary spaceport that will serve as a base for the system.
From spaceship captain to space tyrant
This is what the developers promise: The idea is clear, to transform the simple spaceship pilot into a space tyrant. It is said: Once the player has built his first station, he can decide how to proceed while designing his new empire:
- Does he want to build more space stations in orbit
- Or does he want to set up mining machines on the planet to extract resources
How is it being received? The reactions on Steam are mostly positive. It is said:
- “This is my favorite gaming series since 1984”
- “I love ELITE DANGEROUS! Thank you for the update”
Also on reddit, it is said: This is a cool update that gives players a lot to do. There is some concern that it could be quite a grind. There is also some surprise that we are hearing so much from Elite Dangerous, which had been in a long winter sleep, and receiving such a large update now.
What does it cost? The update requires the base game, which is currently on sale for €6 on Steam. Elite Dangerous has an 81% positive rating on Steam. That there are a lot of systems to claim in Elite Dangerous is evident from this article from MeinMMO: An MMO in space has existed for 10 years, yet more than 99% of the game world is still unexplored
