If you already own Elite: Dangerous, whether you bought it from Frontier’s online store, or whether you were one of the many who backed the game on Kickstarter, then you will be getting a free key to unlock the game on Steam as well. Speaking on the Frontier forum, community manager Edward Lewis urged potential customers to buy the space game from EliteDangerous.com rather than Steam because that way the developer gets all the cash, rather than losing out 30% in royalties to Valve.
That said, he did recognize the convenience of Steam for PC players, so to sweeten the deal, he promised that anyone who bought the game from the online store will get a free copy of the Steam version as well. Essentially, this way your can have your cake, and eat it too.
“We always appreciate it when you buy direct from our store because it means we can put more into supporting and developing Elite: Dangerous,” Lewis said.
“But we know a number of long-time players and backers like to play through Steam and we think it’s fair everyone has that option, not just new players.”
Elite: Dangerous is available on PC and Mac, and will also be coming to Xbox One soon, with a PS4 version promised for some time later. In GamingBolt’s review last year, Alex Jackson felt that while the game might hold appeal to the seasoned veteran of the space sim genre, it was far too obtuse and uninviting to the casual player.
Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.