For a moment there, I thought I wouldn't be spending the Christmas holidays hiding away in space. No fear, though, because Elite: Dangerous's release date has just been revealed. The space sim's v1.0 launch has been set for 16 December.

Recently updated to Beta 3, Elite is currently available to play for £50/$75. The pre-order for the full game—that's the one you'll get on 16 December—is set at the much cheaper £35/$50.

That won't be the end of Elite: Dangerous development, though. In addition to patches, post-launch expansions are planned—including planetary landings.

Thanks, Eurogamer.