Elite Dangerous: Horizons Announced, and There Was Much Handwringing

So as rumored/expected/hoped/wished for, a new expansion called Elite Dangerous: Horizons (I always though the colon was after Elite, but whatever) has been announced, and it allows planetary landings. This is GREAT news for fans of the game…or…is it? See, interestingly, if you already own the game, while you get a discount on it, they’re kind of asking you to buy a game you already own, only with some new stuff (like the aforementioned planetary landings). Here is the language that makes this so confusing:

Elite Dangerous: Horizons includes all Elite Dangerous content to date, and all players will continue to fly together in the same galaxy.

So while current owners of the game get something of a discount, new owners get the base game and expansion for cheaper than veteran players when purchasing the expandalone or whatever you want to call it. It’s an odd move, to be sure. I mean I get that this expansion requires quite a bit of development resources, and that those resources will need additional funding. Hell, I fully intend to pay full price for this expandalone thing my own self.

I can, however, see why people are less than thrilled with this pricing scheme. I can also see folks being wary of the use of “season.” Apparently the base game was the first “season” of the game, and this upcoming expansion is the next one. Hell, this upcoming season doesn’t even allow landing on all planets, just “airless, rocky worlds”. I can therefore understand why folks might be upset at not being able to land on any planet.

However, here’s how I’m looking at it. The folks at Frontier, for as hard as they try, aren’t the beeeeeeeeest at communicating. I mean, when their Kickstarter came out, I freaking hated it. Poorly presented, worded and lacking in information, it was a fairly poor campaign, but they eventually won me around. I’m kinda hoping this is the case here, and with further explanation (and maybe a revision of their pricing), more people will be on board.

As for me, I’m completely and utterly on board. Hell, I’m considering getting the lifetime pass, which is kinda crazy, but I love this game. So overall, personally, I’m thrilled that this expandalone thing is coming out, and can’t wait to dive in. What do you think?