Elite Dangerous Players are FLOCKING Back in 2025 and Here's Why

[@Earthserpent89]

I left the game in 2022 after it seemed clear that the game was going into maintenance mode in the wake of Odyssey's terrible launch. I came back after seeing that the Developers started caring enough to make actual new content again.

[@Topper_RP]

I'll tell my experience... I played Star Citizen for a few days while it was free to try in November. It was beautiful, but a nightmare full of bugs and promises for the future. Then I found my Elite Dangerous in my Steam library, gave it another chance, and discovered it was a great, real, and finished game to enjoy without missing anything from Star Citizen.

[@dantesinferno7350]

Same

[@SRSR-pc8ti]

Been playing both for years. SC is just too much of a frustrating bug fest. ED has been fantastic especially in the last year. Bought a carrier, tons of Exobiology, stacks if credits, engineered all my ships after engineering was made easier, bought the excellent Python Mk2, 2 good joysticks, had tons of fun in haz res zones. Finally got into AX combat and got involved in the thargoid war (thanks AXI!!). Its been a lot of fun and I'm really engaged now with ED. I'll drop into SC again once CIG fix stability but ED is my gaming "home" 😊

[@dantesinferno7350]

@@SRSR-pc8ti THIS

[@deutschhhhh6922]

@@SRSR-pc8ti SC bugs should be rectified by 2048. I've already added my SC account in my Will so my kiddo's can enjoy when I'm becoming fertilizer.

[@_BearKeeper]

Most people seem to be coming back, but I actually just started for the first time! I'd always thought it looked cool but never had a PC to run it on. Cut to ten years later when I have that fancy PC and can get myself a VR headset and a HOTAS and I remembered about Elite. I can't remember the last time i've had this feeling in a videogame, elite is a very special thing.

[@Kissamiess]

Oh I wish the devs were as into VR as they used to. I mean the feature is still there and still very good, but it feels like it's stagnant and slowly decaying. In any new feature they add VR support is an afterthought. For example, now that we have HMDs that have much better pixel density than the early prototypes I wish there was an option for a interface that wasn't so in your face that you have to keep turning your head to take it all in with a typical narrow vision headset. Also the flatscreen on-foot gameplay that everyone hates. I just avoid leaving my ship when I'm in VR.

[@planexshifter]

@@_BearKeeper glad you having a good time. Wow, I still remember the awe I felt, first leaving the landing pad… ramming everything on my way out the slot….

[@The_Entity]

Man, if we could explore those derelict gen ship or megaships.. tgat woukd be an awesome addition. Also could benefit from some more "quest" type situations rather than single stage spoon feeding missions. Whenever they do thinks like the sandra korrs or morrigans treasure quests, people absolutely jump on them. There does also need to be more to find "out there" Its great finding rare planets and exobio, but when about new crash site, deepspace science stations you can refresh at and maybe do a few sciency missions for etc. Lots of opportunities i think!

[@SophiaAphrodite]

I feel like there could be a really great story arc crossovers of known things with Powerplay and already existing content. Make a unique type of impressive component as the reward after you have completed the story. It would require some investment in building a story into things that do not feel like it, but it could be done and adding some voiceovers would be nice as well. There is potential there that could give players a reason to revisit places and content while also having a replay-ability by allowing for multiple paths where choices have consequences. Call it Story mode?

[@HecmarJayam]

Dear Frontier Developments: Give me proper atmospheric landings and ship interiors - and I'll keep buying your stuff.

[@SophiaAphrodite]

What does that really offer players though? Clouds and an unnecessary walk to your exit just does not really do anything to improve the game.

[@HecmarJayam]

@@SophiaAphrodite I'm not in need of more gameplay elements - I'm looking for more immersion. These 2 details might sound insignificant for some, but the are not. I know not everyone agrees with this and that's ok. Its just my own 2 cents.

[@Gusttafa]

I dont want ship interiors. Obnoxious shit in every game what have it

[@HecmarJayam]

@@Gusttafa it's been a controversial subject for sure but I think can be implemented without affecting other areas of the game while still making a lot of people happy.

[@Gusttafa]

@@HecmarJayam if i would have option to jump in ship in same way as now, i wouldnt mind. But if only option would be run through whole ship, like I must do for example in Reclaimer in Star Citizen, I would be dissapointed. Ships of size Beluga, Federal Corvette and such are truly big. First time it would be cool. 100th time it would be annoying

[@verdibyrd]

Can confirm, i recently also surged back to Elite and it's great! Thargoids over sol and pp 2.0 with coming base and station building are the main things i really like 😁

[@zenairzulu1378]

Just started playing Christmas Eve after years of watching your content in the content of many others ....so thanks

[@RicardosGaming]

Welcome to the game

[@Its-Just-Zip]

I've jokingly said a few times that I think the numbers resurgence is because a bunch of old elite players are hitting retirement and they finally have time for the game again.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@Its-Just-Zip not long for me....

[@netwarrior1000]

I'm retiring and looking forward to more time for gaming to be sure. But I've continuously played Elite: Dangerous since closed beta, so I'm not a 'returning player' though.

[@CMDR_Shokwave]

I'm kinda curious how many alt accounts are in there. I have one, but I do love that they are reinvigorating the game hand in hand with the players.

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

I'll speak to this on a personal level; what brought me back to the game was unquestionably the Thargoid narrative, which is odd because prior to 2024 I'd never been interested or even seen a Thargoid. There was something about the grand narrative of an attack on Earth that spurred me to come back. When I started playing again I found a game in much better health than when I left it, new ships, performance fixed, bugs fixed, and most importantly a community engaged and positive about the game again. I've done lots since returning, a bit of exploration, a bit of mining, combat, engineering, the lot really. But it has all been a means to an end, to help the war effort and to repulse the Thargoid threat. I fear that without that overarching narrative Elite will drift back towards it's previously rudderless state, yes there was lots to do but the question was always why, what is the end goal and where am I going? I really hope whatever comes next fills that role, an ongoing quest with real impact and real visible results instead of the veneer of Elite past. Overall I'm happy to be playing again, the game is in a good state and I really hope they continue from strength to strength instead of fumbling the ball like the old FDev.

[@shoutingstone]

@ImBarryScottCSS tentatively optimistic for colonisation but still unsure what it'll add. At the moment they just sound like static fleet carriers

[@RicardosGaming]

@@ImBarryScottCSS it is good to be back though

[@gilgoofthegrove5072]

Literally word for word the same dude! The thargoids are enough of a "purpose" to keep me engaged and excited... this Sunday is the blockade and I think im ready to join my first player led event!

[@drfreeze76]

Honestly, I'm playing elite because CIG can't get their crap together and make a game that A) Works, B) has of meaningful consequences, benefits, and downsides to lawful vs unlawful gameplay the lack of such leading to rampant murder hobos, and C) Related to B, the private group server mechanic in Elite is nice and allows for a player curated community. Elite allows me to get my space game fix sans the salt miners. The Thargoids, community goals, power play, quick progression in ships, and the news of upcoming colonization and base building play (that doesn't lock out solo players) also factor in.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@drfreeze76 one games loss is another games gain

[@twistedxmemoryz3866]

I recently got into Star Citizen and I can tell you that while the game is BEAUTIFUL, it lacks...meaning. I can't really describe what I mean but nothing you do in SC feels impactful, everything is just "Go here, do this thing and look at all the shiny while doing it" while Elite has "consequences" for everything you do. I myself am a day one supporter from xbox and gave up when they kicked us to the curb but I've made the transition to PC a few years ago and have been slowly coming back to Elite since they made account transferring a thing. I'm genuinely excited for the first time in a WHILE for the future of this game and can't wait to see what they bring this year.

[@dossward4966]

I'm back because the star citizen community turned into Sea of Theives shitty community. I wanted a space Sim not a day care

[@GenX80sKid]

I was a console player but migrated to PC in Feb of 2024, yes it sucks that they "abandoned" consoles but I feel if they hadn't we may not have gotten all the content we received the last 2 years especially 2024, it gave the Devs the ability to focus their efforts on one platform, and considering it's a pretty small team, it clearly helped to lighten the work load, and as a result look what we got in 2024, best year in the history of the game in my opinion, if dropping my Xbox for a more capable in every way PC to have access to more Elite Dangerous content , well it was worth it, especially with the ability to port your profile from console to PC...there's no loss, only gains.

[@RicardosGaming]

A very pragmatic view and I totally agree

[@shaeleable]

Don;t forget the blanket bans Frontier did when Odyssey launched over even slight negativity, something they still havent apologised for.

[@chrisboyer2195]

I’ll be that guy, if the elite devs can implement interesting and interactive ship interiors and perhaps atmospheric landings, Store Citizen wouldn’t stand a chance against Elite

[@jacobite1017]

Spot on.

[@CountArtha]

It will always be a feather in my cap that I did the engineering grind when it was hard, but making it easier was definitely a good decision. It means new players can do engineering by degrees without getting discouraged or bored.

[@Zasanil]

It's because there's been a lot more bad blood with Star Citizen and the way they are handling development that people are switching over to Elite.

[@RicardosGaming]

could well be - I think people are want a more put together experience and one with heritage

[@rybuds47]

Its why i came back, the sc marketing team is cancer right now.

[@uweb.3974]

​@@rybuds47 Yes !!

[@whiterspon573]

Star citizen is a scam !!!

[@oshavlfarms7239]

Yeah I can't stand SC these days, even though most of my gaming friends still play it. So many changes of direction, broken promises, and horrible decisions. It hasn't seriously changed in 5 years.

[@paulbowler5345]

As a console player I still really miss playing Elite Dangerous. The game and community was great, nice to know the game is enjoying a resurgence after all this time.

[@FAAMS1]

I am hoping for a no obligations, no weekly fee, jump start LTI Micro Carrier with 1 slot for a Large ship, 2 slots for medium ships, and 4 slots for small ships capable of jumping 200Ly...a micro carrier that does not trump more dedicated players and their big carrier, but that serves the people who want to play the game more casually and carefree of a constant maintenance grind ticking every week ad eternum...it needs to be something both appealing and balanced, and as far as I've imagined it the minimal viable product is described above!

[@uweb.3974]

Yes !!!

[@JackManiacky]

They had those support ship models that were supposed to accompany the fleet carriers back in the day. They could base the mini carriers on those models.

[@Rhapses]

I'd support this.

[@Mike0193Azul]

Got into Elite due to how amazing space games are in vr. Loving No Mans Sky and the shipts in Elite Dangerous are fantastic in vr. Hoping they implement more vr functionality and ship interiors

[@CollinBaillie]

I bumped into a Frontier: Elite II video by Drew Wagar and through watching a few related video, learned about ED. I went to check out how mucb it cost and grabbed a basement priced ED Deluxe edition from steam for ~$13AUD. So I guess it was the long standing history of Elite and Drew's passion that brought me in.

[@judcrandall2720]

We are here :D

[@RicardosGaming]

we certainly are

[@GraniteRock]

This is a great analysis. As a returning player who had 40 hours in 7 years ago and then a return in December for another 150 hours this is what brought and kept me: 1. Colonization got my attention 2. War in Sol brought me back now (rather than wait for Colonization) 3. SCO made me feel my time is more respected. I've joined a guild, done some BGS and power play. I'm now headed to the black to make some big bucks in exobiology to get a carrier and cash in anticipation of colonization.

[@mattutes]

those are my general reasons for coming back also, new ships also. i had a couple of thousand hrs on console. i'd love for them to come back to console at some point, but i think they'd need to consider cross-play and that would be a challenge.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@GraniteRock like a lot of commanders

[@AtlasRandGaming]

Just 9800 more hours to get out of the game :)😂

[@SophiaAphrodite]

Came back after an initial disappointment of trying to learn to play and realizing EVERYTHING was a grind. They mitigated enough of that to bring me back and allowed me to buy some ships to be able to hop in and not be insta-killed while learning to be a pilot. Anyone who calls that pay to win is just an entitled troll. No one wins a game that is eternal. It's not like I can buy an Anaconda. If you want your game to die, you leave it as a total grind with a high learning curve with no payoff in the end. I still think the idea that landing and supercruise assist are not built into all ships is absurd when a cell phone has the power to calibrate the math. That's not realistic now let alone in the far future. I currently have to sacrifice something the size of a 1940's computer to do each thing. Just make them inherent like flight assist and let players turn them off. That being said I became very adept at landing within 20 game hours and and getting there with Supercruise. But still it would go a long way for new players to just integrate them into all ships. In closing Frontier has a prime chance to take advantage of Star Citizen being a $700 million dollar display of incompetence. I kind of feel like they thought SC was going to be done 5 years ago and supplant them. They can go the route of NMS and dig in their heels and make ED hard to leave even when SC is done, if ever.

[@alexpetrov8871]

>supercruise assist are not built into all ships is absurd when a cell phone has the power to calibrate the math. That's not realistic now let alone in the far future. I think it is absurd for another reason - manual landing in a spaceport is a major threat for everyone. Imagine a giant ship rammed into a space station or planetary settlement accidentally or intentionally - this can be the end of the entire station. That simply shouldn't be allowed, ships without compulsory certified autolanding modules should be considered hostile and shot on approach.

[@Itsrain1ng8]

Horizon being base game, base game + odyssey being 8 us bucks was a big thing. Haven't played since 2018, curious how far the game has gone since then as well.

[@midnightbacongaming7039]

For me it was the fact it was so cheap on steam i finally decided to give it ago. Think im addicted now

[@marsMayflower]

for me, the game scratches an itch that no other game can

[@RicardosGaming]

I agree 👍

[@Kraigen44]

Alot of the changes and release of new ships have brought myself and my group of friends back.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@Kraigen44 which is great news

[@Kissamiess]

It's a masterful combination of things towards the latter half of 2024. First there was the SCO and new ships. Not enough to get deeply frozen former players back or attract new players, but they did make current players happy. Then there's the final titan and PP 2.0. Not everyone likes the Thargoid content, but a big battle at Sol did make headlines. Then they found out about the new gameplay feature in PP 2.0. That brought old players back and the buzz generated brought in new players too. Final touch is the big upcoming feature of system colonization to give everyone something to look forward to.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@Kissamiess I agree

[@OdisseoItalico]

I am back to Elite:Dangerous which I left after the dismal launch of Odyssey and what a surprise: now is again a joy to play (maybe also thanks to a new PC I built with sufficient resources...)... see you in the black, Captains!

[@EvilMP5]

I left when they started with the ground addon. Gave them a few years and now just came back and purchased the addons etc. Wow it was a steep learning curve again learning all the intricacies. But I still love it.

[@RicardosGaming]

Odyssey for m is a great addition

[@auburncrescent]

Honestly I just came back to Elite purely on a whim, after being away since before Odyssey dropped. Had to buy it again too because I lost my old account and my new account wouldn’t register my Steam purchases so I had to buy them from the Frontier website My only regret is that I wish I got back in sooner. Can’t believe I missed the entire Thargoid War 😭

[@grahamnumber7123]

same here. I was in and around Sol in the v v early days.....kinda left the game due to the grind but had a cobra mk3 and loved it with A class upgrades. Now I hope i can get into it again (From scratch- why did they lose my commander ID and reset password doesn't even work. I feel scammed to pay twice even if i can't access the old email because google sends the code to my phone but then says "Ok we sent you the reset password" TO THE ACCOUNT I CAN'T ACESS!! Actually if I want a cobra (nothing fancy like an anaconda or fleet carrier) then I can pay AGAIN. If that's not shitting on early access players, I don't know what is.

[@Dandroid_1]

I noticed in certain game stores that Elite is actually on sale for... FREE! Im glad this game is getting more players in even after 10 years.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@Dandroid_1 bargains

[@theoriginalkeysto]

I've been playing straight since 2017, but just this Christmas was able to go over to PC, so thats why I'm there now..

[@JustDave_GG]

It have been loving my return to Elite Dangerous. For a couple of months it was the only game I played. Having said that, even with all the improvements, I really wish they would work on VR and optimisation in VR. Just upgraded to a 7900xtx and it still runs poorly given what is on screen. Hopefully in 2025 they will look at this.

[@bjordan429]

01:38 - Lol, you could also call Odyssey planet tech "clean, with more parking space" (Yes, still bitter about that). Still, its nice that Frontier is showing they are not in a maintenance mode with Elite. I know my buddies and I returned recently. Interesting to hear this is part of a larger re-population. 06:00 - Great points.

[@RicardosGaming]

thankyou

[@headshot6959]

Frontier probably underestimated the response to Cocijo arriving in Sol. It was over in under 2 weeks and they even had to quietly boost the Titan's health to stop it being over even sooner. It was a wipeout, the 'goids never stood a chance.

[@RicardosGaming]

Agreed

[@Daerdor]

I’ve been playing since beta but took a break after Odyssey as many others. What brought me back is the closure of the Targoid arc and PP 2.0 I was never into PP before but the way they reworked PP is extremely fun, I’m having a blast!

[@RicardosGaming]

powerplay is certainly reengaging players

[@jasonwodarski4981]

Really enjoying the state of the game right now, but hoping for some qol improvements in 2025: 1. Set my fire groups free! It's been 10 years, let me use more than 2 mouse buttons. 2. Engineering is still prohibitively complicated. I have hundreds of millions of credits, just let me buy the materials I need. 3. Let me designate a home system/station. Maybe get a discount on modules, restock/repair, or on transporting ships.

[@perilousrange]

Materials are a lot easier to obtain, thankfully. We drop wing shares of mats on people daily. Let us know if you need any.

[@magnox72]

It could be the end of the Thargoid War. I remember the early days of Engineering when there were a lot of bankruptcies caused by players being consistently killed by over engineered NPC's. If memory serves me, players got some of their 'lost' credits back, but not all the credit were refunded. I'm guessing a lot of players didn't want to go through this experience a second time with OP Thargoids

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

I played the game for 9 years without ever encountering a Thargoid, it was always entirely optional content. I think the truth is the exact opposite. The Thargoid war and particularly the attack on Earth lit a fire under commanders old and new to come back to the game and contribute to a grand and meaningful goal that Elite has always lacked.

[@kofeyh]

Can confirm resurging, and surging all over the place. Some might argue it's because SC has had some wobbles, but I think more it's that Frontier has essentially been forced to make Elite more of a marque title and invest in it, which has breathed life and potential back into the title. In turn, Frontier has discovered if they spend more time rewarding players, it's more rewarding to do (for developers and players alike). Odyssey drove me away. Recent changes and improvements have brought me back. QoL changes have been huge, as has the clean sheet approach to the new ships. I am cautiously optimistic for 2025.

[@planexshifter]

Honestly I logged in for the first time in 2024 on the 10th anniversary. I heard about new ships and that got me looking at ED again.

[@planexshifter]

As an explorer, this Thargoid stuff, it offered me nothing

[@RicardosGaming]

@@planexshifter alot of people did the same

[@daviddesrosiers1946]

I left Elite on console shortly after I returned from Distant Worlds 2. Just came back to the game with a new account this year on the PC. Been flying since 3303.

[@shaunh2015]

Left when they abandoned XBox. Got a gaming PC for Helldivers 2, kind of played that game out and found ED on Steam for like $10, why not.

[@SteveSiegelin]

Do anybody coming back remember to check your old ships because you can upgrade all of your ships to an SCO drive from their original a ranked drive. At first I was kind of apprehensive about it but once I get used to using frameshift boost it has become pivotal in cutting my travel times down. I can definitely tell who has won and who doesn't because I pass a lot of people on my way to destinations now.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@SteveSiegelin exactly

[@SteveSiegelin]

@RicardosGaming okay I had to come back and make a comment because I just saw two things I have never seen in this game before. I landed on a planet that said it had one form of biology but I had two different species of that biology and then I was sitting on another planet and I saw a shooting star! I'm in a system that has nobody. There is nobody on the radar but I'm sitting on a planet and I just watched a shooting star! I play this game for 10 years and when biology came out if there was one form of biology there was only one form of biology on the planet. And I have never seen a shooting star. That was quite awesome and kind of unexpected!

[@SteveSiegelin]

Okay the shooting star might have been a reflection and I might have jumped into comments to post that because I got excited but still I did find two forms of biology on one planet that said one form of biology last night! It looks like the same species but they were different colors. When I pinged it it turned purple and I realized that it was not the same species.

[@Ratatoskr3007]

I just came back and brought my boyfriend and his friend to the game.. they've never played, and it's been fun to get money with them. I was originally a console player, but I built my first pc for this game.

[@RicardosGaming]

I bought a new pc just for odyssey

[@fishstix4209]

4:28 it's because the games age rating increased with a dlc, which went against console development terms of service

[@thatrandomguycommenting1261]

Its the updates. I stopped playing in 2019 and started again about a week ago. Sold all my ships except my Mandalay and bought a FC with genomics and flew it 1500ly outside the bubble doing exo biology. Now im down to 300 mil and essentially starting over. I find the game more relaxing than SC. Also SC is utterly broken rn.

[@Blue-jy4sq]

I came back becuase they finally dropped the price in odyssey and are now including it in the game price on most platforms instead of making it a "pay an extra full triple A game price to keep playing on our servers" situation. Theyre also doing a lot of listening to the community again that they used to always do when i used to play.

[@aeringothyk5445]

I do think there needs to be some kind of mass cargo transfer option for people with carriers. Either a massive cargo ship that can carry thousands of tons, or something that allows you to pay for the AI to transfer the cargo for a fee

[@SophiaAphrodite]

I see the idea of a tanker carrier but there would a logistics issue. What is the fee? How much is insurance of the carrier is destroyed or your cargo is stolen? Maybe have it so the fee is waived if you ride with as protection? What would be the cargo cap and would it be total or per item? But I like the idea of actual large scale space trucking as a service.

[@DavidMurray1969]

I originally had over 1,200 hours in game and have returned after a few years break with the Thargoid invation of Sol, I'm trying to drag mates who have only dabbled into the game.

[@krisanderson997]

Oooo i liked your end statement- 2024 the catalyst, and 2025 the explosion... 👍🏼😎 07 Richardo!

[@RicardosGaming]

Congratulations for reaching the end :)

[@maxfaded]

I'm playing again - I'll support the game as long as they do. They need to fix the servers, rendering/shadows are borked, Anti-Aliasing is useless and there's still a lack of actual direction.... My overall outlook of things is a bit more positive now. We'll see - but I'm hopeful again.

[@lanceobe6801]

I want 2025 to see the implementation of on-foot. VR, I'm one of those players that will only play this game in VR so I'm just patiently waiting on this last feature so I can finally start doing some on foot play

[@RicardosGaming]

@@lanceobe6801 who knows… I doubt it as VR is still not main stream in it rent iteration

[@cmdreltonpoole6303]

I'm back, and so are a few of the old wingmates if mine who gave it up after the Odyssey debacle. I still can't get into the on foot stuff, though I enjoyed the capture the flag type game I played. I can't seem to find an "in" - I'm woefully underpowered for any mission I attempt (think taking a sidewinder into a Haz5). Maybe there are some easy missions I can do to level up or something.

[@briangueringer3673]

After spending 2 years playing alot of Star Citizen I started playing Elite alot again . The last year of the Thargoid was stuff was really enjoyable. I ended up liking all the new ships for what they are. Having played SC so much it really jumped out at me how good alot of the streamlining vs sim design is. Elite is Star Trek. SC is Star Wars. Opening up the grind was the best call I think they have made lol. I would love to see a conplete over haul of fps combat. It simply does feel old and stiff. Other than that some new big ships that are different in some meaningful way and not just SCO enabled would be very cool. Hopefully there is a sequel at some point to really give them the opportunity to update all the tech and game engine. A story line with the Guardians coming back and causing an all out war between human, goids and them would be 🔥. It is good to see the game moving forward and starting to focus on getting people to gameplay over grind. I think the future is fairly bright, so heres to 2025!

[@Tamburello_1994]

Stuck with it thru thick and thin. Never lost faith.

[@RicardosGaming]

Me too

[@shokwavxb]

I'm back again again. I migrated my account from PS to PC years ago, finally got myself a Python. I then left shortly after when I converted to VR play since VR in the SRV on a rough surface didn't treat me well grinding away for raw materials. Came back around November '24 only because MSFS2024 wasn't quite ready for release and I needed a break from DCS. My VR motion issues have gone away too (hardware upgrades helped). Improvements like removing engineer randomness, SCO and the pre-built Python Mk II / Mandalay with no/low rebuy really helped make this game more enjoyable too!

[@baronjutter]

I just bought the game this month. I had known about elite for years, knew friends who played it, but it always felt empty to me. Like the entire game seemed to just be flying from identical station to station through empty space with zero character, grinding out combat missions. The more I learned about the game starting to have all these neat events and storylines it seemed interesting but not entirely for me. What actually got me to buy the game was the announcement for colonization. I know it won't be what I hope it will be, but it got me playing! But man, if fdev maybe talked to some newer players for feedback on the initial learning curve and basic QoL stuff I think they could pump the numbers up much higher. A game like this should not require you to be on a discord, download 2 3rd party apps and use a few more 3rd party websites and wiki's just to have the most basic understanding of the game.

[@shoutingstone]

As one of those returning players, what brought me back was star citizen :). Backed both SC & Elite in their Kickstarters. Have 800 hours in Elite but my interest dropped off after Odyssey. Conversely, ive hardly touched SC which between bugs and gankers always seemed pretty unwelcoming to new players. Thought id give it a proper try over Christmas though and, apparently, i couldnt have picked a worse time as its both ultra buggy (Alpha 4.0) and ultra ganky (Pyro) right now, so as i already had the HOTAS set up i thought id fire up Elite for old times sake, and got sucked right back in again. Made my 1st trip to Colonia and everything

[@RicardosGaming]

welcome back - and what a time to be back too!

[@BrunoMoozika]

I'm one of the players who returned to Elite Dangerous, but only to participate on the battle for Sol and check out the new ships. Was nice enough, but won't keep me engaged in the game as I'm all out of grinding gameplay. I'm waiting on colonization to see if will something I'll enjoy or it will be more of the pointless fluff of BGS and PP. PP 2 looks nicer, but I don't much care for care packages and already have the PP modules I want, so don't see the point of doing it. I it's still lacking in terms of adding new stuff for veteran players, but I'll wait for colonization and what else FDev may bring us, maybe there will be something I'll enjoy.

[@FlockofSmeagles]

The game really only needs its current system expanded upon in more integral and meaningful ways. As of now, all I can really say about it is that it's incomplete. Don't get me wrong. Colonization sounds great, but if they're going to implement this system the same way they've done with every other progression in the game. I can't say that it will be worth the wait.

[@pgm1673]

Fdevs financial woes polarised their focus. Fortunate for them enough diehard players were still here to keep things going.

[@RicardosGaming]

up to over 10k players on steam onthe weekend - gotta to say something for returning and new commanders

[@AtlasRandGaming]

Harding early ship access and raising paint cost allow them to have a team working on free content for the game.

[@lucidnightmare9290]

Yeah i left the game because of the consoles being left behind i think a lot left because of that, funnily enough decided to come back a few days ago to horizons

[@vagrant4154]

I think what really started bringing people back was the engineering revamp, which made it feasible for people to actually play without having to devote their entire lives to grinding. Unfortunately, they screwed it up again by 1. all but completely eliminating the thargoid war and 2. making powerplay 2 yet another massive grind that again, requires incredible time commitments that most people with families and jobs simply don't have. Removing things like the thargoid war, which entire comminities like AXI have been built around and then forcing, yet another, grind down our throats shows that they're not listening to customers at all. We'll see how colonization works out, but since FDev can't seem to get over this weird addiction to causing people frustration, I'm not optimistic. This has made even new features become quite boring since it's just the same thing over and over, with the only difference being that you get a different toy at the end. Dropping the game for now unfortunately and might be back once they figure out how to get more creative. If I'm going to grind on AI politics and base/fleet building, I'd rather grind learning another game like X4 where there seems to be more effort put in by the devs.

[@mslunaticgenericword5015]

They definitely should enable purchase of Megaships or carriers … it’s a win win for absolutely everyone. If people complain, well, don’t buy them. Is it pay to win? Nope, not on elite lol

[@RicardosGaming]

@@mslunaticgenericword5015 well the carriers do go a way to scratch that itch… it will be interesting to see what system colonisation brings

[@jaxfisher2707]

Love this game. There is some grind to it but it’s not so bad that. I don’t want to do it. It makes you earn what you get and I like that about it. Like watching your videos. Keep it up.

[@RicardosGaming]

Thankyou - and thankyou for your support

[@lilmansmokie3077]

I’m also digging into my reserves to give people some credit when they first get into the game so they don’t get overwhelmed

[@lilmansmokie3077]

And so they can figure out what they want to do without having to worry about money I didn’t have that luxury

[@RicardosGaming]

@@lilmansmokie3077 soon as the CGs start there will be credits everywhere

[@gilgoofthegrove5072]

How do you send money to players?

[@RicardosGaming]

@ you cannot, you have to do it via dropping cargo

[@gilgoofthegrove5072]

@@RicardosGaming never even thought of that though, so that actually helps!

[@the4thj]

$4.99 on Steam that is why, and that's all it's worth, at this point, the game needs a new update and NEW mechanics added. The list everyone knows about.

[@TheRealMiniIsHere]

the year it came out I upgraded my pc gpu at the time to run the game, I enjoyed it and then my PC died, I bought a new PC (technically my first self bought PC aimed for gaming) and played for a whole year then.....got bored.... I forgot about it until I heard about "space legs" I kept my eye on the DLC and closer it came, I rebooted the progression which was not much (20mil) and the DLC launch was a mess and I was let down thinking "FDEV just milking money until the game dies next year" as that was what we all were seeing. No real progression goal and I left again...... The big event of the thargoid got me back returning realising im so far behind now, I am suffering FOMO and couldn't give time to play enough to get engineered stuff, so I just went exploration in known thargoid sighted spots just to see them......I had my first interaction with them 3 weeks later forgetting about them, then I played for a while before I got bored once more. (I kept getting bored as there was no real "big goal" as I kept meeting my Anaconda goal and wiping and repeat that pattern, not going into engineering as that confused me and I was a little "i dont want to do combat so i dont care." Between the arrival of carriers and now I was on and off playing, no longer wiping but didn't understand fully how to make big credits fast, it took me a long time to get 100mil that I didn't see getting a carrier anytime soon and got bored with the grind. End of last year I got the E.D itch out of nowhere, I had NO information about it apart from "I want to get that carrier for good" as my big goal and my friend wanted to join so he bought the game in the winter sale and now we're enjoying the game together. I learn't how to make 100mil faster, but it still going to take me longer to make enough for a carrier so I am up to learn new ways to make credits so I can grab a carrier for me and my friend even though carriers are ideally squad thing, I just want one and a reason to keep playing with a goal like upkeep. I had no idea others were coming back into the game and that FDev worked hard on the upkeep. Im happy I was wrong about FDev in the early years.

[@CheekiStalker]

Well, I got me and a few buddies the game when i went on a deep sale on Steam. It was like 6 bucks for the game and dlc.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@CheekiStalker bargains are to be had

[@varthelm]

Highly disagree with your analysis of why Odyssey expansion failed but I agree with your general conclusion that Frontier finally started listening and engaging with the playerbase. Players are customers and business works better when you determine what your customers want vs telling them what they should want (Odyssey, engineering grind to boost player engagement numbers via empty tedium, etc).

[@HCforLife1]

What brought me back are: - frequent new ships added - powerplay 2.0 - which kept me engaged - SCO - if not that, I would not return - upcoming Colonization I will be honest - they earned this in 2024. I hope that they won't back down in 2025. What I am waiting for are new landable planets with visible atmospheres, atmospheric effects on surface and some weather system including clouds, potential rain or snow. I will be disappointed if they won't expand on this in 2025. If they won't even mention this in 2025 with 2026 in mind - I am not bothering.

[@RicardosGaming]

well they have apparently stated they will do more of the same - so good news for us

[@boogalooinvestigator]

I can tell numbers are up as jump times have become terribly long.

[@RicardosGaming]

I know what you mean

[@geneticjen9312]

1. Store sales 2. VR sales doing a bit better

[@RicardosGaming]

Q3 has helped

[@theorigonalb.a]

cig and nightrider (cuck) from spectrum are to thank for pushing so many players into other space sims arms. I will abandon and boycott star cit if they allow nightrider the cuck to stay

[@BoneCresent]

The reason why i bought this game didn't have to do with this game at all,ill say it again this game did nothing that caught my attention or desire to get it or play it but the steam marketplace did had it part to play. I was giving a 20$ steam card this past Christmas and was browsing the market. Now, those who do some digging know in steam's market understand what I am talking about of seeing what one can find to make the most out of a given amount of money, and that is 20 dollars isn't enough to get a fair decent game that isnt either an adult, nude game, novel,puzzle and/or 2D game. In general, a pool of games one can pick to choose from is bad. Terrible one may put it, but to me, 35$ is the minimum before you enter the bumpster side of steam. Elite dangerous for me, wasn't some 60$ title that was competing against other 60$ titles and came out on top. To me Elite was a game I've found at a heavy discounted price that out of a pool of bad selections. Now am saying this not because I am holding anything against the game cause I am not. This has been the most effective purchase I've enjoyed for the price I've bought. Am saying to tell of the nature the purchase was before some stranger decides to speak one behalf stating that was that game itself was the reason of success or whatever has transpired when the truth is that playing market strategy was the cause of success. You situation may differ, but that is how it is for me

[@SteveSiegelin]

I'll tell you one reason why the numbers are up, Activision messing around like they've been. When they made me log in to Black ops 6 just to play modern warfare 3 even though I didn't own Black ops 6 I had enough. I would rather grind going through the Galaxy then deal with packet drops and unenviable games. I deleted all my call of duty's and I played fallout 76 for a while but then I got bored and came back to elite. That's actually how I found out about the major thargoid war. Then they gave me access to Sol. I finally got to fly around Mars and so yeah, I'm back😂. I'm actually even active in power play right now. It's a whole new learning curve because I didn't even get involved in power play 1! I'm back for quite some time now😊 it's not as bad as it was 6 years ago and finding out that we've only found 0.05% of the Galaxy so far even now gets me excited to see which way they might go! If they put foot Kombat with aliens the game is going to become unstoppable. We'll see how this system claiming goes but I'm hoping they're not talking about the way power play is set up now. I would also like to see landing on earth-like worlds. That would be!

[@RicardosGaming]

@@SteveSiegelin that is fantastic

[@gzaos]

I hope they will make the bigger planet landable with flora and fauna.

[@thestellarengineer]

Two years ago at the start of the war i left with 50 hours. 4 months ago i returned and put 1500 hours in.

[@RicardosGaming]

good effort

[@AtlasRandGaming]

You and everyone else lately 👍

[@garethde-witt6433]

Colonisation will probably push me away as I don’t think it will enhance the game, Power Play 2.0 has spoiled it somewhat.

[@RicardosGaming]

Mord news next week

[@sevenver]

Because star citizen is in an unplayable state

[@RicardosGaming]

I did a quick stream of SC and , graphically lovely, bugged though

[@NigelAdams-r1i]

PC Gamer here...Thousands of hours in Elite but the Odysee update didit for me and haven't touched it since...Moved over to SC, what a shit show that has been with all the game breaking bugs lol. Contemplating diving in again...cos at least it works which sadly SC doesn't.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@NigelAdams-r1i we had our yearly go at SC, I was not impressed unfortunately

[@NigelAdams-r1i]

@@RicardosGaming I hear you.

[@jacobside2656]

Easy. Being a system builder is just too tempting, I'm back and building up my credit balance

[@foreverneox109]

because star citizen is actually playable now and people want to see other options i believe

[@buzzbean5090]

Cos it’s always been a great game but frontier were / seemed to be running it into the ground. I have 3000 hours in up until a few years ago then I left …. Disillusioned with frontier …. Now it seems frontier have realised the potential of their own game , something the players have always knew but frontier didn’t seem to get…. I think whatever went on with war hammer and formula one titles has forced frontier to revaluate their business options and now the whole vibe around this this game feels positive for the first time in years and I’m back and loving it as are many other OG cmdrs , on top of this my 18 year old laddie and his mates have set aside CS-GO , rocket league and call of duty to play elite and having a blast.

[@RicardosGaming]

@buzzbean5090 to set aside those games and take up Elitw is indeed something

[@deutschhhhh6922]

A resurgence because Star Citizen continues to suck pipe. Chris keeps overpromising and underdelivering while inducing aneurysms with CIGs player base

[@MrBrooks3322]

The Thargoid War brought me back after not playing for a few years. Now that the war has ended I am afraid the game is going to be stale again. The War really added a goal/reason to play and work towards. With no new news about something like that in the future the game just lost a huge part of the game that was actually fun and now there is nothing really to fill that void. Sure the idea of colonization is cool but gameplay for that is not going to be exciting but more of just a mindless grind of mats.

[@RicardosGaming]

The must have a plan for more player engagement

[@nixravette]

It's too bad Frontier is going to piss away all the goodwill they've built up over the past year by ditching the year-round best sellers section of the Arx store and returning to FOMO-based sales.

[@RicardosGaming]

You never know

[@THEDENDIECASTRACING]

It’s fun? It reminds me of when I first started. I play two hours a day and I am having fun.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@THEDENDIECASTRACING fun is still fun

[@coolingfan]

sooo i hope next ship is guardian based medium combat ship! Thargoid is gone, its great time to research about guardian in lore

[@RicardosGaming]

we will have to wait for January's Frontier Unlocked show for more insight on what may be coming

[@timothypricesr5953]

because it went pay to win so it brought back people who rather pay cash than grind

[@RicardosGaming]

@@timothypricesr5953 I know what you mean but I do not think it is pay to win. Those ships are a choice

[@timothypricesr5953]

@@RicardosGaming lol try power play and tell me its a choice.... its like saying 3 min to purchase vrs several straight hours to grind... dont get me wrong enjoy the game but dont lie about what it is

[@DvdV1337]

That cant be right. I started playing less since thargoid war ended

[@TheVinchenzo130]

Because it was 8 bucks on steam and base was free on epic

[@AtlasRandGaming]

lol. You should just get the normal carrier. I want a bigger one now as I’ve maxed the number of ships on mine and cargo is full of parts for sale. If I can get a super carrier I can sell my current one at a discount to players like you 🙂

[@Scrub_Ghost]

The steam deck should get it?

[@RicardosGaming]

I have seen people play it

[@LeCalmar]

Because the dev are taking care of the game again maybe :D

[@Profane_Pagan]

They have never stopped. Development of the Thargoid war which concluded couple weeks ago commenced in 2021. Before Atutumn 2022 they started working on the Powerplay overhaul. They have been working on the colonisation update for a while as well, for more than a year. They did overhaul their direction, but it is not their passion or the workload what changed. But their marketing and communication strategy.

[@RicardosGaming]

@@Profane_Pagan totally agree - communication with the player base is key and 2024 put that back on track

[@pisacenere]

Amazon gifted me the game

[@TakaChan569]

ehh the on foot combat is still kinda bad, sometimes it feels like i'm fighting a worse version of cops from gta lol. And i'm still not a fan of "early access" ships, but over all i have had enough good reasons to play again. I just hope they keep adding and building up what makes the game fun, only time will tell if they can keep things on the uptick.

[@RicardosGaming]

On foot is what I enjoy the most

[@TakaChan569]

@@RicardosGaming ehh to each their own, imo the gunplay just feels terrible. Then again i don't have access to on foot engineering yet since i just got started, but that makes it feel even worse as a first impression.

[@shingshongshamalama]

Make torpedoes not suck please.

[@tigrezno2626]

what I find dull is the lack of random events, game is boring

[@Tamburello_1994]

Not a serious player.

[@RicardosGaming]

There is always something to do, today I will go mining ⛏️⛏️