Elite Dangerous: Horizons is becoming a free expansion

All Elite Dangerous pilots will be able to hop into their space cars and drive around alien worlds without dipping into their wallets soon. Frontier introduced planetary landings and the SRV exploration vehicle back in 2015, as part of the Horizons expansion, and next month the whole thing is being bundled into the base game for free.

The Horizons expansion currently costs £20/$30, so new players are going to save themselves quite a bit. And while pottering about on the surface of new worlds is a highlight, Horizons offers quite a bit more, including multicrew ships, letting you work together with your space buds in a single vessel.

From October 27, you'll be able to access all of Elite Dangerous just by grabbing the base game, aside from premium cosmetics. Speaking of cosmetics, all existing owners of Horizons will get the Azure paint job for all of their ships. If you're really, really desperate for the paint job, Horizons will remain on sale until October 26.

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Next year, pilots will be able to leave their ships and wander around planets using their own legs. Odyssey is Elite Dangerous's next expansion, and along with doing some sightseeing, you'll be able to get into FPS battles and undertake ground missions like diplomatic jobs, commercial gigs and combat. It's not been dated yet, but it's coming in early 2021.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.