Cambridge, UK — October 29, 2014 — Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV) has released Elite: Dangerous Beta 3.

The third stage of Elite: Dangerous’ Beta test has rolled out to players, unlocking even more of the real Milky Way for exploration and introducing long-awaited features including multiple ship ownership and mining.

• Player-driven interdiction. Players can now interdict NPC ships, pulling them out of faster-than-light travel back into normal space along with the player.
• Philanthropy missions added.
• Fuel scooping from stars added. Keep a close eye on your temperature gauge as you refuel from the blazing surface of stars.
• Asteroid mining added. Cut metal and rock from asteroids using the mining laser.
• New ships added: Imperial Clipper and Federal Dropship.
• Multiple ship ownership. Long requested by the community, players can keep multiple craft docked at starports, allowing for reserve ships dedicated to combat, exploration, trading and more.
• Additional ship images added to loading screen .
• Status panel now shows faction reputation.
• New in-game controls to allow rapid switching between display screens.
• Outpost landing pads now reflect low gravity environment.
• Play area expanded to over 2,400 systems and 869,000 cubic light years of playable space.
• Improved galaxy map, with partial name searching, range display and route finding.
• Planet visuals overhaul. Planet surface types, liquids and atmospheric colours now reflect their chemical composition.
• Planets display volcanic features and complex craters can create dust ejecta. Crater frequency is dependent on atmosphere thickness.
• Ice planets now have fracture features.
• All planets now have dynamic ice caps and liquid levels.
• Asteroid belt clusters added.
• Nebulae added, visible in the sky and the galaxy map.

Look to the weekly Elite: Dangerous newsletter this Friday, 31 October for an important announcement about the next stage of the Beta. A full newsletter archive isavailable.

Elite: Dangerous‘ Beta 3 is available to play now for £50 ($75, €60) through Frontier’s online store. A discount for existing backers of the full game is applied on checkout, making upgrading easy.

Elite: Dangerous will be released in Q4 2014.

The pre-order exclusive Elite: Dangerous Mercenary Edition includes the full game, an additional Eagle fighter, ship liveries, Day One decal and other digital goodies for £35.00 ($50, €40) Pre-orders receive a £4.99 discount on the final release price of £39.99 ($59.99, €49.99).

Players who pre-order the Mercenary Pack can upgrade to immediate Beta access at any time for £15.

All backers who have purchased Beta access or higher will receive the Mercenary Pack – including the final game – upon release in calendar year 2014.

About Elite: Dangerous

Take control of your own starship in a cutthroat galaxy.

Across the vast expanse of an epic, full-scale recreation of our Milky Way, interstellar rivalries flare as galactic superpowers fight proxy wars.

Some may know you as an ally; others will call you a pirate, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, an explorer, an assassin, a hero… Fly alone or with friends, fight for a cause or go it alone; your actions change the galaxy around you in an ever unfolding story. Start with a small starship and a few credits, and do whatever it takes to get the skill, knowledge, wealth and power to stand among the ranks of the Elite.

400 Billion Star Systems. Infinite Freedom. Blaze Your Own Trail.

About Frontier Developments

Frontier Developments plc is a leading independent game developer, founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the seminal ‘Elite’ space simulation. Based in Cambridge, UK and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Frontier uses its proprietary ‘Cobra’ game development technology to create innovative games across consoles, computers, smartphones and tablets.

Elite: Dangerous, to be released on PC and Mac, was crowd-funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign and Frontier’s own website. Previous Frontier titles include RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Thrillville, LostWinds, Kinectimals, Disneyland Adventures and Zoo Tycoon. The studio recently announced ‘Screamride’ for Microsoft’s Xbox One and “Tales from Deep Space” for Amazon’s Fire tablets, and is working on other original titles.