Elite: Dangerous is the fourth game in the ground-breaking genre defining series Elite. The game was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and Frontier Developments own website since November 2012. Throughout 2014, supporters have had access to the game’s Alpha, Beta, and Gamma stages.
The story sets with the Empire in disarray. The Empereor is sick and a bitter fight for succession has begun. The Federation is weak and some states are looking to succeed. Players are able to dive deep into the story, participate a little, or not at all. However players choose to respond will affect the current events and unfold the story beyond.
Since 1984, players have aspired to be called Elite. in 1984, only the greatest combat titles were known by that title. Today, in Elite: Dangerous, Elite status is awarded as recognition for mastery in either combat, trading, exploration, with the best of the best aspiring to become Elite in all three. For most, the journey to Elite will be long, for others, a race. Frontier Developments is offering a cash prize of £1,000 (or roughly $1,575) to the first person who attains Elite status for each combat, trading, and exploration and a further £10,000 prize (or roughly $15,636) for the firstplayer to attain the coveted Triple Elite status for total mastery of all three. Players that are choosing to claim one of the £1,000 cash prizes will make them ineligible for the ‘triple’ cash prize, though, one more could get more than one of the £1,000 prizes.
For further details and rules of the competition, visit the Elite: Dangerous forum thread on the competition here