Greetings Commanders,
We’re happy to confirm Update 13 is coming on Tuesday 9 August and will see the highly anticipated conclusion of the Azimuth Saga. It will also mark the beginning of the next major chapter in the Elite Dangerous narrative. We hope you’ll join us in HIP 22460 where we’ll be watching everything unfold! We’d like to take this moment to discuss what interacting with the story will look like following this conclusion.
Horizons and Odyssey currently exist as separate versions of the game: 3.8 and 4.0. The latter contains the foundational code which supports Odyssey content and a multitude of improvements added since Odyssey’s launch while the former does not. In our Console Update announcement in March, we mentioned aligning game development by releasing future content on the post-Odyssey codebase (version 4.0). This is essential to modernising the way we deliver content and ensuring various elements such as the interactive storyline continue expanding in scope and quality.
To allow as many players as possible to experience the new narrative and gameplay elements, we intend to give all PC players access to version 4.0, at no additional cost, while keeping the upgrade to Odyssey optional. You will still be able to launch Elite in version 3.8 if you choose. This option is expected to come in the weeks following Update 13 with more details to be shared closer to the time. To understand what will be available to Horizons players on 4.0 compared to Odyssey players, see the table below.
With regards to how this affects the conclusion of the Azimuth Saga: delivering on our promise to offer the best possible narrative content requires taking full advantage of version 4.0. Therefore, Horizons players will be able to witness the final event in the Azimuth Saga and access related gameplay scenarios. Moving forwards, all PC players will have access to content in the next narrative phase given they are using version 4.0, except in cases where on-foot gameplay (and by extension, Odyssey) is required.
Thank you as always for your continued support and please leave any feedback or queries which we will address!
O7