Greetings Commanders,

For the past few weeks groups across the galaxy have been on high alert after our announcement of the Rise to Power.

During this event players and groups will be battling it out to carve out an area of space and become an official power in the game, and by doing so, become immortalised in Elite Dangerous history.

Five groups have already qualified for this contest by having the largest and most powerful player factions in the game. However, as well as these five groups, one additional group will enter this epic contest as our wildcard. To be chosen as the wildcard they will need to demonstrate themselves as the people’s choice.

To begin, the entire community will be voting on their choice and the top five groups will then go on to compete against each other in a series of Community Goals to determine our wildcard in the final games.

YOU have the power to influence which groups progress, and which do not. What’s more, you also have the power to influence the games at every stage by taking part, supporting or hindering your chosen faction in the Community Goals.

The first stage is now live. You can cast your vote for the group you would like to progress to the next stage HERE. However, please note you can only vote once and results will be announced after the poll ends on Tuesday 17 May at 10:00 BST. So make sure you know who you’re voting for before casting that important vote!

It is each group’s job to ensure they are campaigning through every available avenue for your votes and making you aware of exactly what type of power they would try to represent. You can check out our FAQ here and our Contestants thread where we invite all the groups to give us more detail about their campaign and you can ask questions.