Elite Dangerous is Being Review-Bombed

gamerant.com:

Outraged Elite Dangerous players accused studio Frontier Developments of adding pay-to-win items after it announced plans to sell its newest spaceships for premium currency. An upcoming patch for Elite Dangerous is expected to bring with it the first new ship type since the release of the Mamba and the Krait Phantom, which both hit the live servers back in December 2018. Unfortunately, many fans were displeased when developers revealed players would have to pay extra if they wanted to grab the latest ship at the earliest opportunity.

Fans of Elite Dangerous have at times jokingly referred to the space flight simulation game as a spreadsheet simulator for its intricate network of fleet management systems and evolving player-run economy. While some might be put off by the time it takes to learn and master Elite Dangerous' complex web of resources and supply chains, the title has carved itself a niche in the gaming sphere largely thanks to its incredibly complicated simulation of a spacefaring era's galaxy-spanning economy. As can be expected from such an intricate system, it's common to see players who sink hundreds of hours into farming the game's credits to upgrade their fleet, with some ships valued up to hundreds of millions of in-game currency when combined with the cost of necessary upgrades and modifications.

Many of these veteran pilots were outraged when Frontier Developments announced plans for what they believed were pay-to-win spacecraft, allowing players to skip dozens of hours of grinding required to buy and outfit just one of Elite Dangerous' many ships. Specifically, most users were critical of the studio's monetization of the upcoming Python Mk 2 ship, which will temporarily only be available for purchase with ARX when it releases on May 7, 2024. Many saw this as a betrayal by Frontier Developments, with several users pointing to a statement from 2019, wherein the studio promised ARX would only be usable for cosmetic purchases.

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