{"id":1140156,"date":"2026-02-05T13:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=533870"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:11:15","slug":"elite-dangerous-community-bounces-back-for-distant-worlds-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/elite-dangerous-community-bounces-back-for-distant-worlds-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Elite Dangerous community bounces back for Distant Worlds 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Elite Dangerous<\/a><\/em>, the massively multiplayer spacefaring game first launched in 2014<\/a>, has had its share of ups and downs over the years \u2014 sometimes even during the same in-game event<\/a>. But after more than a decade online, there\u2019s 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<\/a> you can fly through in first person. <\/p>\n

After a solid few years of purposeful development and a full-throated recommitment to the brand<\/a>, it\u2019s clear that Frontier Developments is trying to keep it relevant as it heads into its second decade of existence. Tuesday\u2019s announcement of Distant Worlds 3<\/a> tells me that its most dedicated players are on board, too. It\u2019s time to see the stars again, and I can\u2019t be more excited about the prospects \u2014 even if we\u2019ll have to wait until 2026.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s most distant planets. Nine years ago he recreated that trip with more than 500 players, offering a curated journey through some of the game\u2019s most incredible locations. Just a few years later came Distant World 2<\/a>, 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 \u2019verse.<\/p>\n

Even though the game sputtered and fought nearly every step of the way, the experience was also one of the most beautiful things I\u2019ve ever seen on a computer screen. The good news is that Distant Worlds 3 won\u2019t be leaving until 2026, so that means there\u2019s plenty of time to get familiar with the game and outfit the perfect starship for the journey.<\/p>\n

After the recent set of updates in February, it\u2019s clear to me that Elite<\/em> 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\u2019t have a virtual reality headset<\/a> or your own homemade cockpit<\/a> 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<\/a>. And if you\u2019re looking to try your hand at space trucking in the year 3311, head on over to the New Pilots Initiative<\/a><\/a>, a community-driven Discord which remains one of the best ways to get started in the complex game.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elite Dangerous, the massively multiplayer spacefaring game first launched in 2014, has had its share of ups and downs over the years \u2014 sometimes even during the same in-game event. But after more than a decade online, there\u2019s 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\u2019s clear that Frontier Developments is trying to keep it relevant as it heads into its second decade of existence. Tuesday\u2019s announcement of Distant Worlds 3 tells me that its most dedicated players are on board, too. It\u2019s…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1140157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1140156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nElite Dangerous community bounces back for Distant Worlds 3 | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Elite Dangerous, the massively multiplayer spacefaring game first launched in 2014, has had its share of ups and downs over the years \u2014 sometimes even\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/elite-dangerous-community-bounces-back-for-distant-worlds-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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