The next big expansion for Elite: Dangerous has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Frontier Developments has announced. Elite Dangerous: Odyssee will now launch sometime in autumn 2021 for Xbox One and PS4.
In a post over on the Elite Dangerous website, Frontier shared that Odyssey’s development had been affected by the global pandemic. “The ongoing impact of the pandemic however, including the renewed lockdowns in 2021, continues to put added pressure on our teams and ultimately our development timeline. We have therefore had to make the difficult decision to make some adjustments and changes to our existing development roadmap.”
According to Frontier, the console release of Odyssey, which was due to launch in early 2021, has now been shifted back to the autumn of this year. “Our PC plans have only been affected by a small amount, however our plans for the console release will unfortunately see a larger development shift. Please do know that these difficult decisions have been made with a focus on making Odyssey as incredible as it can possibly be for all our Commanders regardless of their platform, while also respecting realistic project deadlines for our teams during this difficult global situation.”
“We understand that for many, this additional delay will be frustrating. Once again, we would like to apologise wholeheartedly to our community, especially our console Commanders.”
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, announced last year, will introduce a galaxy of new content. For the first time, you’ll be able to leave the confines of your ship and explore planets on foot, visiting settlements and outposts and engaging in first-person combat.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey launches for Xbox One this autumn.