Elite

ReleasedSep 20, 1984

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

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.

Developer: Acornsoft, Frontier Developments, David Braben, Ian Bell
Publisher: Hybrid Technology, Firebird, Merlin Software U.K., Imagineer, Acornsoft, Digital Integration
Genres: Shooter, Simulator, Strategy
Themes: Action, Science fiction, Business, Sandbox, Open world
Modes: Single player
Perspective: First person
Age ratings: CLASSIND L
Time to beat: 200 h completionist
IGDB rating: 79 / 100 (38 ratings)

Release dates

Release dates by platform
Platform	Release
Acorn Archimedes	1991
Acorn Electron	1984
Amiga	1988
Amstrad CPC	1986
Apple II	1985
Atari ST/STE	1988
BBC Microcomputer System	Sep 20, 1984
Commodore C64/128/MAX	1985
DOS	1987
MSX	1987
Nintendo Entertainment System	1991
Tatung Einstein	1987
ZX Spectrum	1985