Elite

Elite (1984)

by Acornsoft, David Braben, Frontier Developments, Ian Bell, Digital Integration, Firebird, Hybrid Technology, Imagineer, Merlin Software U.K.
Genres:Strategy, Shooter, Simulator
Themes:Open world, Action, Science fiction, Sandbox, Business
Game modes:Single player
Story: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.Show more
user avatarAdded by @X3r0
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.
3 442
Trailers and screenshots
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Stories about this game (6)
What’s your memory of Elite?Share your favorite moments and see what others remember about this game.
user avatar@placeholder

Make sure to follow our Guidelines when adding new Stories.

If not sure what to write:
  • What made this game unforgettable?
  • Who did you play this game with?
  • What made it fun or challenging?
  • Why do you want this game on GOG?
user avatar@paci2020user avatar@paci2020
February 06, 2025
Before Elite Dangerous, there was this game. It had a reputation system based on your kills which increased access to more dangerous areas and more lucrative missions. Starting from the bottommost Harmless, all the way up to Dangerous, then Deadly then Elite. The higher your reputation, the more you would be hunted by others wanting to raise their own reputations. Tempted to try this again just for nostalgia but I honestly don't miss the days when every sound from your game came out of a single pc speaker in some kind of variation of beep or bop. Or monitors back in the day that were all green, or orange. Later upgrading to the amazing EGA, with 16 COLOURS!!! Then VGA, then...I kind of lost track after that. Why do we even need 8K? Was painfully reminded of this trying to replay old Sierra games. There is a reason why remasters are necessary for retro classics like this. I do wish Elite Dangerous was available as a single player offline experience though. Like all online games, it will die with it's server, while this old thing will go on and on. Such a tragedy, really.
user avatar@GoodGuyAuser avatar@GoodGuyA
February 02, 2025
The seminal piece of early British game software. There are many, many versions and different types of support that would need to be added - but it would be worth it to have one of the most important video games of all time available.
first space game i played,i played on a AMIGA 500,their wasnt anything at the time anywhere near it,it would be fun for younger memebers to see what it was like back in the day.
user avatar@Ianmanuser avatar@Ianman
February 20, 2025
An amazing experience that started my hobby of gaming. it was revolutionary at the time and I couldn't believe the scale of the game. It just brings back a lot of memories!
user avatar@shenron666user avatar@shenron666
February 26, 2025
This is the most advanced game of its time. No game at the same period could argue to propose a tenth of Elite. In fact, this game is a masterpiece, far above any other game, more than technicaly advanced for the computers capabilities of the era.
Played this game from tape on BBC micro. Still love it. :)
Those games also need your vote!
Resident Evil Revelations Collection
Resident Evil Revelations CollectionA bundle containing Resident Evil Revelations on a game card and download codes for the Resident Evil Revelations 2 episodes. Includes all previously released DLC for the games.
Action
Horror
Survival
Action
Horror
Survival
206
MechWarrior
MechWarriorMechWarrior is the first video game released in the BattleTech game series. MechWarrior was the first video game to offer the player a chance to pilot a BattleMech from the view of a pilot (a MechWarrior). With this game the player has a great deal of freedom when compared to many of the follow-up MechWarrior games, which include choosing missions, buying & selling 'Mechs and parts, hiring lance-mates, and traveling throughout the Inner Sphere. Underneath the major game mechanics, the player had the option of following a role playing style story arc that would unfold over a five-year (game time) period.
Action
Science fiction
Action
Science fiction
6 981
3
Freelancer
FreelancerEight hundred years prior to the start of our story, bitter conflict divided all of mankind. A handful of colonists struck out on their own to begin anew - far away from the Earth and its turmoil. Several ships were launched with enough equipment and supplies to give the hundreds onboard a fighting chance - but since the area around far-off Sirius had never been surveyed, no one really knew what to expect. What they found was a new frontier of free-flowing natural resources, unexplored territories, great wonders and lurking dangers. Each ship, representing the clusters of people and their earthly place of origin, settled into different parts of the galaxy pre-selected by their ship-board computer to give them the best chance of survival. Life was hard in the beginning, but over the 800 years the different colonies prospered and expanded their territories, claiming more and more systems for their own. Survival and propagation eventually led to growth and profit as each of the colonies developed specialties and fostered commerce. As the colonies grew and time passed their connections with their roots on Earth dwindled and they lost their memories of the conflicts of the past. Soon their attention was dominated by new, more immediate conflicts. Feelings of lost ancestral connection spurred anachronism in the look of the great cities, and created a somewhat distorted image of each colony's cultural heritage. In the ever-expanding outer edge of the territories, frontier lawlessness prevailed. The Houses: Each shipboard colony that left Earth carried some memory of its origins in its name. The Liberty carried Americans, The Bretonia flew from The United Kingdom and surrounding territory, The Kusari from Asia, and the Rheinland launched with Germanic cargo. As each ship settled and colonies began to expand, they knew little about each other and their advancing development. Finally, little by little, the individual colonies found each other and began to set up trade routes to link their systems for commerce and solidarity. Today, with each colony firmly rooted in its respective corner of the galaxy, the colonies rely heavily on each other for trade and industry but also compete for resources and new territories in the Border Worlds. The colonies mandate member governments in "The New Alliance" within the Sirius sector. To control conflicts, each colony has forged alliances and treaties with others as they have grown. Competition remains fierce, however. Struggles rage for supremacy in business, commerce, resources, power and control. There can be tenuous peace between colonies' political agendas, but the grabs for holdings constantly unsettle the volatile frontier.
Our Pick
Top
Science fiction
Sandbox
Our Pick
Top
Science fiction
Sandbox
76 964
529
Breath of Fire II
Breath of Fire IIThe incredible sequel to the best-selling RPG hit Breath of Fire is here! You are the last member of the Dragon clan, fighting to rid the world of a growing evil. A cast of unusual and exciting companions joins you in your adventures across a wondrous land full of magic and mystery. You'll find strange mystic items, memorable monsters and exotic locations in your quest to conquer evil. There's strategy and spellcasting galore in the hours of compelling action and adventure that awaits you. Breath of Fire II is the ultimate in RPG excitement!
Action
Fantasy
Action
Fantasy
4 287
16
Digimon World
Digimon WorldDigimon world is a game that allows a player to raise their own Digimon and teach it to battle.
Our Pick
Top
Fantasy
Science fiction
Our Pick
Top
Fantasy
Science fiction
43 066
1158
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Breath of Fire: Dragon QuarterBreath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is a radical departure from the previous titles of the Breath of Fire series, and in some ways from standard Japanese-style role-playing games in general. The game is built like a huge dungeon crawler, with no overworld map. The combat is tactical: each character has action points (AP), which can be used to move around the screen during an enemy encounter, and perform a variety of combo attacks. There is no magic in the game, and many of the items found in dungeons are random. All the enemies are visible on screen. Depending on who first initiated a physical contact, the party or the enemies get an extra turn in battles. The game allows (and even encourages) the player to restart it from the beginning, keeping the items and the party experience. The game also features a special counter - Ryu can use his traditional dragon transformation abilities, but the counter raises with each such transformation, and when the counter reaches 100, the game is over. Raising the D-ratio allows characters to access new areas every time the game is replayed.
Fantasy
Fantasy
3 181
19
Vanguard Bandits
Vanguard BanditsIn a world where technology and mythology are one, a young rebel and his ragtag crew are unwittingly drawn into a holy war being waged by the bloodthirsty General Faulkner and his mercenary forces. Guide the charasmatic Bastion as he realizes his destiny to lead the rebellion against the Junaris Kingdom, and to save the people of his world from an eternity of oppression. Lead powerful squadrons of robotic warriors into battle and take complete command of their actions. Smite your foes with cleaving swords, piercing spears, and sizzling magic spells. Use the terrain to your advantage and maneuver your forces into superior combat positions. Witness the results of your tactical decisions in glorious 3D combat sequences.
118
2
MechWarrior
MechWarriorIn 3017, when Herras Ragen was 12, his father Colonel Joseph T. Ragen, a soldier in the House Davion army, was working to infiltrate and destroy a renegade mercenary cartel called the Dark Wing Lance. However, he was discovered, and the Dark Wing took their revenge: somehow, they had learned the location of the Ragen family's residence. Under cover of night they attacked, killing everyone. Only young Herras, who was at a friend's house at the time of the massacre, survived. Unbeknownst to him, the Dark Wing made an agreement that after the strike, they would separate for ten years and maintain an absolute code of secrecy before regrouping again to continue their nefarious operations. Now, in 3027, that time is up. Herras, who has become a young man, has waited the last decade for his chance to take revenge. As a mercenary MechWarrior operating from the planet Galatea, with a light 'Mech in the hangar and 50.000 C-Bills in the bank, he will accept any mission that will lead him closer to finding the murderers of his family.
Action
Science fiction
Action
Science fiction
1 519
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Deluxe Edition
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Deluxe EditionResident Evil Revelations 2 is a survival-horror thriller featuring the interwoven stories of Claire Redfield and Barry Burton across 4 playable episodes. The series favorite Raid Mode also returns in a big way, offering countless hours of gameplay. This deluxe bundle includes the complete story, extra episodes, extra costumes, additional Raid Mode characters, throwback maps and additional storage slots.
Horror
Survival
Horror
Survival
1 393
Autoduel
AutoduelA futuristic, fast paced strategy role-playing game by Lord British and Chuckles. Enter the world of tomorrow, a world of futuristic freeways where the right of way goes to the biggest gun. Somewhere within the 16 cities and outlaw-infested highways of Auto Duel, are the clues you will need to compete the ultimate mission. Do you have the tactical skills and hair-trigger reactions required of an Auto Duellist? Prove yourself. Step into the arena on Amateur night. Only your driving proficiency and marksmanship can earn you the right to custom build your combat vehicles. The AADA (American AutoDuel Association) will offer you courier missions for prestige, for money. The FBI and the Underworld will vie for favors, but watch out! You'll quickly realize you need a clone to survive. The final gauntlet will test your AutoDuellist skills. The challenge of AutoDuel awaits you. Are you ready?
Action
Science fiction
Action
Science fiction
109
1