Elite: Dangerous finally has a release date

Frontier Developments has at last confirmed a release date for the PC version of Elite: Dangerous.

Eurogamer reports that the launch version of the game will be made available on December 16th.

The game has of course been available for some time now in assorted alpha and beta forms, but that early access has come at a price – from 50 all the way up to 200. The launch title, in contrast, will cost just 35.

"No game is ever truly finished in the minds of those making it," Frontier boss David Braben told Eurogamer.

"When you are close to a project for a long time, you tend to see the things that have annoyed you; those things you know could be improved upon; those things you are afraid might not work well for people that are not 100 per cent au fait with the game. For me this makes a public alpha and beta process quite difficult, but it also helps focus on the bigger picture. I think the best definition is that something is launch-ready when it is a great game.”

Braben has previously hinted at a console release for the space shooter, so perhaps we can expect news of that some time in the New Year.