[Video] ObsidianAnt - Frontier's Financial Position and the Future of Elite Dangerous

[StuartGT]

[video=youtube_share;E0Br0Ue1-eE]https://youtu.be/E0Br0Ue1-eE[/video]

Video Description:

Information on Elite Dangerous updates for 2019 is increasingly being speculated on. New financial information on Frontier Developments from company Liberum gives us some insight on where Elite Dangerous is heading between 2019 and 2022. In this video I take a look at those details and speculate what we may see this year.

The full financial report of Liberum on Frontier Developments can be accessed by anyone, however they do require a subscription. The server does provide a free 7 day trial that you can use to access the report.

Visit this link and check the link at the bottom of the page titled "LIBERUM: Frontier Developments - Record revenues and profits" dated 8 February.

 

[Stewart_]

I just finished watching this. Very interesting, not to mention the 2020(IRC) Elite refresh!

Good investigation StuartGT!

 

[StuartGT]

I just finished watching this. Very interesting, not to mention the 2020(IRC) Elite refresh!

Good investigation StuartGT!

Thanks & no worries

Liberum's full quote from one of their reports is: "The company is working on a number of exciting updates for both franchises and our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20, five years after launch (we expect Elite Dangerous to be closing in on £100m of life-time revenue by the end of this financial year)."

 

[jasonbarron]

Given the age of the game and the use of the word "refresh" I'm going with option #3, if not in a literal sense, then at least in the sense that the game is completely revamped.

 

[Pville_Piper]

Given the age of the game and the use of the word "refresh" I'm going with option #3, if not in a literal sense, then at least in the sense that the game is completely revamped.

While I enjoy many of the features and the game itself, I come to feel that way. So many things have been compromised because of the placeholder mechanic that when they attempt to add more to the game it either falls short in many areas or it make completely no sense or it so completely changes the gameplay that the forums fill up with really bad salt mining between the don't fix what I liked and the I can't go back to the way it was crowds. You almost have to play the game with blinders on at times...

 

[Lightspeed]

Given the age of the game and the use of the word "refresh" I'm going with option #3, if not in a literal sense, then at least in the sense that the game is completely revamped.

Judging by the continuing technical difficulties many players are reporting, this would be the logical conclusion: a refresh of how the game functions in connecting players, together with headline crowd-pullers of Legs and Atmospheric Planets. If it's nicknamed Elite 2, so be it, though that doesn't have to mean a new "parallel game."

Elite: Reset Button anyone ?

 

[Lightspeed]

Thanks & no worries

Liberum's full quote from one of their reports is: "The company is working on a number of exciting updates for both franchises and our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20, five years after launch (we expect Elite Dangerous to be closing in on £100m of life-time revenue by the end of this financial year)."

That's a fine piece of investigative reporting you carried out here

 

[thistle]

Thanks & no worries

Liberum's full quote from one of their reports is: "The company is working on a number of exciting updates for both franchises and our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20, five years after launch (we expect Elite Dangerous to be closing in on £100m of life-time revenue by the end of this financial year)."

Good work Stuart! Very interesting.

Is that company that sent David Braben a 25th birthday cake? I remember seeing it on his twitter feed, something about them being Frontier's Brokers.

"Refresh", eh? Hmmm.

 

[StuartGT]

Good work Stuart! Very interesting.

Is that company that sent David Braben a 25th birthday cake? I remember seeing it on his twitter feed, something about them being Frontier's Brokers.

"Refresh", eh? Hmmm.

Good point! Checks.... yes: https://twitter.com/DavidBraben/status/1089842032791703552

Spoiler

 

[thistle]

As others have said before ... no point doing ice words or carriers in beyond & shoehorning them into the existing code if the decision had already been made to "refresh" the game code ... perhaps.

We will see. As long as the game has a development future of some sort I'm in.

 

[Han Zulu]

Given the age of the game and the use of the word "refresh" I'm going with option #3, if not in a literal sense, then at least in the sense that the game is completely revamped.

It's a possibility. Maybe they hit a snag getting the space legs working in current design, so maybe it's a ED#2 where you start from legs, like X4.

 

[jasonbarron]

It's a possibility. Maybe they hit a snag getting the space legs working in current design, so maybe it's a ED#2 where you start from legs, like X4.

They've dropped some pretty telling clues imo, things such as nixing ice planet upgrades and carriers because (paraphrasing) they conflicted with "future plans." A total revamp, ED 2.0 just makes sense. My body is ready.

 

[Flin]

Good Find

My speculation is that the revamp won't be drastic, but would be substantial to warrant a full price 'unit'.

An full upgrade to their Network stack would be welcomed.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Hmmm. Possibly *eight* internal projects, going on at one time?

Management will be running around, on fire, from project to project.

The famous one hundred programmers will be working eight shifts a day...

Under such circumstances, why fix a broken game, when you can replace it?

 

[Vedmo]

If they just replaced it they could finally get out from under the thumb of all these super needy LEP holders.

 

[Lightspeed]

If they just replaced it they could finally get out from under the thumb of all these super needy LEP holders.

:O ... !

 

[Stewart_]

If they just replaced it they could finally get out from under the thumb of all these super needy LEP holders.

I’m hoping LEP get free upgrades for everything including ED2 and beyond.

im not a LEP BTW... and had my chances.

 

[Riverside]

If they just replaced it they could finally get out from under the thumb of all these super needy LEP holders.

The LEPers are not an issue, simply refund the value not yet redeemed with an accompanying thank you for the interest-free loan. It's the not saying anything that's the problem, one Zac acknowledged in his September community update. FDev were extremely conciliatory & apologetic about the affair when I spoke to them in Cologne in August.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Yeah that's alot of projects.

All three of frontiers high profile games have been released as high quality / refined skeletons. As in every single game is released with obvious missing features and an intention to *add* too the game in the future.

Guess this works well for them?

I think what defies logic of someone sitting here is, if as a company all you can manage to do is release bones of games, as you grew, wouldn't you be thinking about the ability to actually release a fully fledged product, rather than increasing the number of simultaneously active skeletons?

Or unfinished games with paid dlc to finish them off sounds like a keen topic if you dare describe frontiers development approach that way. For elite at least, the kickstarter promo is functioning as an amazing smoke and mirrors it seems Kickstarted project with bare bones. Okay. Time moves on. Frontier makes more barebones games... Hang on...

Im pretty sure no one thinks Planet Coaster or JWE is a finished game, but continue to play it anyway. Just like with elite.

 

[Han Zulu]

If they just replaced it they could finally get out from under the thumb of all these super needy LEP holders.

Doubt it. They have capital, so they wouldn't have to do that from a financial standpoint. There's enough non-LEPs for them to sell plenty of DLCs. But if they did screw LEPs, they'd lost trust capital and a lot of players and the future of the game. It would be pretty dumb to do it.