Elite: Dangerous new sequel to 80s classic heading to PCs in 2014 (just needs to raise 1.25 million first)

According to Braben’s Kickstarter pitch, Elite: Dangerous will be “an amazing space epic with stunning visuals, incredible gameplay and breath-taking scope, but this time you can play with your friends too.”

Although no proofs of concept images or videos are included with the pitch, Frontier Developments (which has 235 staff and titles like LostWinds and Kinectimals in its portfolio) has apparently been working on a new Elite in the background for some time “laying the technology and design foundations for when the time is right. And that time is now.”

As one of the first 3D and open-world games ever made, the original Elite is regarded as a pioneer of the medium and one of the most influential titles of all time. Players could travel between eight galaxies, each with 256 star systems, accumulating as much money as possible through endeavours like trading, mining, piracy, and bounty hunting.

Previous Kickstarter projects which have successfully risen significant funding through the platform include Obsidian’s Project Eternity ($3.9 million) and Double Fine’s Double Fine Adventure ($3.3 million).

You can find full details of Elite: Dangerous on its Kickstarter page.