Elite: Dangerous is on track to take flight. Frontier Developments' space sim exceeded its £1.25 million (about $2 million) Kickstarter funding target yesterday, amassing £1.31 million ($2.13 million) from more than 22,000 backers at press time. The fund ends tomorrow, January 4, at 7 p.m. EST.
The milestone was reached on Frontier Developments founder David Braben's 49th birthday.
Stretch goals for Elite: Dangerous were recently announced, the first of which is a Mac version. If the funding hits £1.4 million ($2.27 million), a Mac iteration will be released within three months of the initial Windows launch. Additionally, if Elite: Dangerous amasses £1.5 million ($2.44 million), an additional ten playable ships (on top of the 15 existing) will be added to the game.
Elite: Dangerous is aiming to be an "amazing space epic" that boasts "stunning visuals" and "incredible gameplay." The game is currently scheduled to arrive only on PC during March 2014.
The game features multiplayer, a reputation-based system that affects the gameworld, a trading market, combat missions, and customizable ships. Players will begin their journeys with a number of credits, which can be used for a variety of purposes.
The original Elite launched in 1984, with two bona fide sequels, Frontier: Elite and Frontier: First Encounters, arriving in 1993 and 1995, respectively. Braben and Frontier Developments most recently developed Kinectimals, Kinect Disney Land, and Lost Winds.