Elite Dangerous: Odyssey takes on Star Citizen, allows on-foot combat and exploration

For years now, I've been wanting Elite Dangerous to become more like Star Citizen. It looks like it's finally happening in 2021. Today, Frontier Developments said that the upcoming Odyssey expansion will allow you to land on planets and explore on foot, even engaging in combat and other interactions like diplomacy and trade.

The press release Windows Central received said the following. The expansion should launch during the early months of next year.

It is time to disembark and look up at the stars once more. Frontier Developments proudly announced today Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, a new major expansion for Elite Dangerous, arriving in early 2021. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey marks the birth of a highly anticipated new era for the long-running definitive space simulation, allowing players to touch down on countless new planets. Taking life on the frontier of space to new depths, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey's emergent gameplay will let players forge their own path through a wide variety of missions, ranging from diplomacy and commerce to lethal stealth and all-out combat.

David Braben, Founder of Frontier Developments, said the following.

Odyssey is our most ambitious Elite Dangerous expansion to date. Extending coverage to the super-fine scale that is needed for on-foot gameplay while maintaining the vast raw distances measured in light-years is a huge achievement by the team and greatly extends the already rich Elite Dangerous experience. We hope you will join us to continue this journey of discovery and adventure when Elite Dangerous: Odyssey launches in early 2021.

I hope you're as excited for Odyssey as I am. Keep in mind that this is a paid expansion. We finally have a tangible game that's like Star Citizen!