Greetings Commanders,
Many of you will be aware that we announced an upcoming process which will allow players to copy progress from their console Commander profiles to PC. If you missed that announcement, you can find more details here. Please note:
- The original console profile will remain playable
- Only one profile may be copied per copy of Elite Dangerous
- This will be a one-time only process
We're happy to confirm that this process is scheduled for release in September. The implementation has a lot of moving parts and we appreciate your patience and understanding.
Please find below an FAQ based on your queries to the previous announcement:
Console Profile Transfer FAQ
Which elements of my console profile will be copied to PC?
Which elements of my console profile will NOT be copied to PC?
- Your Commander name IF that name is not already in use on another PC account. If it is already taken, you will be given the chance to choose a new name as part of the process.
- Ships (and all engineered modules on them), Holo-Me, weapons, SRVs and SLFs
- Including Cobra Mk IV if owned
- Credits
- All modules in storage; including all engineered, Community Goal, and Powerplay modules
- Core progression (this includes…)
- Inventory
- Reputation
- Navy Ranks
- Permits
- The Codex, with all discoveries and information gathered
- Engineering progress
- Tech Broker progress
- Powerplay. You will remain pledged to the same power, at the same level with the same access to Powerplay rewards
- NPC Crew names, appearance, and progress
- In-game customisations, such as Paint Jobs; Bobbleheads; Ship Kits and all other items purchasable with ARX
- Any applied Livery/customisations will remain applied, so your PC CMDR and their ships will appear exactly as they were on Console before the copy
What are my options for my Fleet carrier and its contents?
- Your Commander name if it is already in use by another PC player. You will be given the chance to choose a new name as part of the process
- ARX Balance. Please ensure that you purchase desired customisations before you complete the transfer. Any unspent Arx will remain on your original console profile
- Squadron membership
- Friends lists, Block lists and Private Groups
- Current mission progress
- Fleet Carriers and their contents. Please see the fleet carrier section below for further advice
We are looking at a number of options to give the best continuity for CMDRs being copied from Console to PC. As soon as we have more information on Fleet Carriers, this page will be updated to reflect our plans.
How long will the copying process take to complete and will my console account be playable whilst this happens?
The process itself should be fast for each individual transfer. It may take longer during times of high demand if your request is part of a queue. If this happens, you will receive advice at the time and be given an expected wait time.
Once the request has been made, both accounts will be frozen and neither will be available to play until the process is complete. You will receive emails to confirm that the process has started and give updates on the progress of your request.
Will I be able to use the process to copy a Commander from one console to another, or from PC to console?
No. The system is only allows console players to copy their save to PC, so that they can enjoy Odyssey content.
I already have a PC account. Do I need a new one?
No! If you would like to use an account that you already own, clearing your existing PC save will allow your console Commander to then be copied to this account. If you have an account with a Commander that you would like to keep, you can use a free Horizons account that we will provide for the console profile to move to. To use this free account, you will need to register for a new Frontier account using an email that differs from your existing account.
To delete an existing PC Commander profile, open the main menu, select 'Options' and then select 'Clear Save'. You will be asked to confirm the action before your save is deleted.
Will my console Commander's progress merge with my existing Commander on PC?
No. Please see the question "I already have a PC account. Do I need a new one?" above. You will need to clear your PC save to allow the console save to copy across. However, any in-game customisation purchases that you have on both platforms (such as Paint Jobs; Bobbleheads, and Ship Kits) will be available to your PC profile.
What will happen to Livery/Customisation items unlocked or purchased on my existing PC account? Will I be able to access these post-transfer?
All items unlocked or purchased on the PC and Console accounts will merge, and all will be available to the newly copied CMDR on PC.
How do I get my free copy of Elite Dangerous: Horizons?
During the copying process, you will be asked to log into an existing PC account or create a new one. If you opt to create a new account, a Horizons Licence will automatically be applied to the new account.
Which PC platform will my copy of Horizons be available on?
Your Horizons account will be accessible from Frontier's standalone launcher. If you would prefer to play on Steam, you can visit this page, to see how you can activate Elite Dangerous on Steam after receiving your free Horizons account. If you would prefer to play on the Epic store, you will need to purchase the game there first and use that account for the transfer process.
If I have previously purchased Elite Dangerous: Odyssey on PC, will I need to do so again to play it with my console save?
Please see the above question "I already have a PC account. Do I need a new one?". If you are using the account on which you purchased Odyssey and have cleared the existing Commander profile, your copied console CMDR will be usable in Odyssey.
If you are using the free copy of Horizons or have copied your console Commander to an account that does not already have access to Odyssey, you will need to Purchase Odyssey to access its content.
I have an old PC account with a Lifetime Expansion Pass. Can I copy my Console CMDR to this account?
Yes! However, you would need to clear your save on this account. Please see the "I already have a PC account. Do I need a new one?" question, above for more information.
I previously had a CMDR wealth transfer from PC to console and was told it was a ‘one time only’ thing. Can I now transfer back to PC?
Yes, you can. Now that Odyssey will not be coming to console, we feel it only fair that you are able to return to PC with the progress you have made on console.
I am playing Elite Dangerous on Xbox Gamepass. Will I be able to copy my Commander to PC and play there?
The process will recognise and copy across valid game licences. If you have not purchased Elite Dangerous on Xbox, you will be able to Copy your save to a new PC account, but will not have a licence to copy across; which means that you will need to purchase the game on PC to be able to launch Elite and access the copied profile.
If you are copying your Game Pass profile to an existing PC account that has a licence for Horizons/Odyssey; those licences are retained and you will be able to continue playing with the console profile on PC.
I already have a PC Commander and would like to keep their name after I transfer my console Commander to this account. How can I do this?
Once you clear your existing PC save (see the question "I already have a PC account. Do I need a new one?" above), that name will become available on PC again. You will be given the option to select a new name as part of the process, so can then select the original name for your copied console profile.
The Commander on the existing account that I will be using has the same name as my console Commander. Will this be a problem, as I'd like to keep that name?
Once you clear your existing PC save (see the question "I already have a PC account. Do I need a new one?" above), there will be no duplicate name to cause this potential conflict, so you will be able to continue with the same name without issue. The name will remain reserved by the account that originally owned it, so another CMDR will not be able to claim it whilst the transfer goes through.
Will my Community Goal progress copy to PC with my Commander?
No, it will not. If there is a live Community Goal at the time copying system goes live, we would advise that you complete this and claim your rewards before performing the move to PC.
Will I be able to own a Fleet Carrier on both accounts after the transfer is complete?
Yes. There will be no restrictions on this.
The following questions relate to players that have used the previous system of transferring wealth and want to know more.
I purchased Odyssey on PC because I did not want to wait for it to come to console and don't want to lose my progress. Can I still have a wealth transfer and just copy over previously purchased Livery and Customisations from my console account?
Yes! Please be aware that this will result in the deletion of your console profile as it always has. This will be explained further on the ticket form. You can Submit a Request for this here.
I transferred from console to PC some time ago. My commander was deleted and I did not get to move my customisation items to PC. Can my old Commander be restored and can I copy them and their customisations to PC?
Commander profiles from that time will no longer be available, so we are unable to restore the save data for them. However, we can help with copying your console accounts' Commander and ship customisation items to PC. You can Submit a Request for this here.
We hope that all of the above is helpful! If you have any further questions, please share them below and we'll look to answer them and update this post if and when appropriate!
O7
Absolutely brilliant.
Many thanks to the team
Won't this create a credit dupe opportunity? Say, some guys coordinate and put 500B credits into one Console account via carriers (not necessarily the owner's). The owner then makes the transfer and now has two accounts with 500B each, credits which can now be transferred cross-platform via carriers.
Edit: Other than that, this is awesome news. Thanks for further following through on this.
This is bordering cheating / exploiting a system designed to help consolers - if not well deep in it already.
So i'm pretty sure FDev will be able to check if a console account gets a sudden increase in wealth (sometime between the initial announcements and the migration process) and they may take the appropriate measures if they think it it's needed (removing credits, canceling the migration, banning the accounts involved)
One extra point regarding carrier transfers:
while they may not care much about credits transfers between alts - after all, it's the same commander - they might get a strong stance regarding credits movement between total stranger account holders - especially in the context of what is called "gold selling"
So i would exercise caution
