Space-sims are making their way to consoles this summer when Elite: Dangerous arrives on the Xbox One.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced the news at a GDC panel today as he discussed Microsoft's partnership with Elite: Dangerous developer Frontier Developments, which just launched the Xbox exclusive Screamride late last month.
The online spaceship simulator released in December on PC, but its release on Xbox One will be the game's console debut. Frontier Developments says the console version will include everything in the PC version of the game up to March's Wings update. Whether or not the console version of the game will be continually supported and updated like the PC version is still up in the air.
Regardless, snagging one of the premier space-sims is definitely a big win for Microsoft. The game currently boasts an 80 average review score on Metacritic. Elite: Dangerous looks to be Microsoft's answer to the PlayStation 4 indie exclusive No Man's Sky, a colorful space-sim that allows players to explore the universe and the surfaces of a seemingly infinite number of planets. No Man's Sky has long been cited as one of the PS4's biggest exclusives, so Microsoft being able to answer with a space-exploration title of their own (and one that will likely release ahead of No Man's Sky) is definitely a score for team Xbox.
You can check out some gameplay of Elite: Dangerous below, as players embark on various missions like running cargo or ambushing freighters. The space-sim genre has historically been catered to a hardcore, PC gaming crowd that doesn't hesitate to buy a several hundred dollar flightstick for the ultimate simulator experience. It will be interesting to see how the game performs on Microsoft's console and whether or not the console gaming crowd will sink their teeth into what Elite: Dangerous has to offer.
Update: David Braben, co-founder of Frontier Developments, says Elite: Dangerous is a timed exclusive for Xbox One and will be coming to PS4 at a later date.
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