Elite

Elite

1984 · Acornsoft

3.94 out of 5, 38 ratings

About

Elite is a space trading video game, written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September 1984. Elite's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite". Elite was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden line removal. It added graphics and twitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader. Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by Robert Holdstock which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.

Release date
September 20, 1984
Developer
Acornsoft, Frontier Developments, David Braben, Ian Bell
Publisher
Hybrid Technology, Firebird, Merlin Software U.K., Imagineer, Acornsoft, Digital Integration, Acornsoft
Genres
ShooterSimulatorStrategy
Themes
ActionScience fictionBusinessSandboxOpen world
Age rating
ClassInd L

Media

Platforms

Nintendo Entertainment System
Acorn Archimedes
BBC Microcomputer System
Commodore C64/128/MAX
ZX Spectrum
Atari ST/STE
Acorn Electron
DOS
Tatung Einstein
Amiga
Apple II
Amstrad CPC
MSX

Release dates

BBC Microcomputer SystemFull release
Europe · Sep 20, 1984
Acorn ElectronFull release
Europe · Dec 31, 1984
ZX SpectrumFull release
Europe · Dec 31, 1985

Time to beat

Completionist200 h

Languages

LanguagesAudioSubtitlesInterface
English (US)
French
German