Frontier Developments expands Elite Dangerous franchise

Gamers had something new to froth over on Wednesday, with a new release from Frontier Developments - Elite Dangerous: Arena.

The AIM-traded video game developer said the release was a standalone version of the existing close-quarter combat mode available in Elite Dangerous.

Frontier Developments said the game offered a new context in which competitive gamers could engage in fast-paced multiplayer space combat against others from around the world, and featured full cross-compatability with the growing Elite Dangerous player community.

"Elite Dangerous: Arena allows a new audience the chance to experience multi-player space combat at an accessible price-point," said chief operating officer David Walsh.

"We are looking forward to welcoming even more new players to the community through this competitive experience, which is upgradable to the full galactic-scale Elite Dangerous game," he added.