After years of speculation, aliens have been found in Elite: Dangerous

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...and it's definitely not a hoax.

Elite: Dangerous players have long searched for the elusive Thargoid alien race. There's been no disputing that they exist: ruins of their spacecraft have been spotted throughout the game's endless simulated space, and while Frontier Developments has never outright confirmed their living presence in the universe, it's been a matter of enduring interest whether they'd ever be found.

It looks like the long trail of hints and cryptic clues has amounted to something, finally: a player known as DP Sayre has uploaded a handful of videos showing what is very obviously a functioning version of the ruins. The footage was captured on an Xbox One so can't be embedded here, though you can click here to watch. There are more videos listed on the official Elite Dangerous reddit.

Naturally, all manner of speculation followed the video's release, with some claiming it must have been doctored. Notwithstanding how difficult that would be using an Xbox One (the videos were uploaded directly from the console), Frontier Developments appears to have verified that the footage is real:

The encounters look peaceful, and it doesn't appear that DP Sayre attempted to antogonise the Thargoid. It's naturally only a matter of time before someone does, though. 

Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.