We still don't know when Elite: Dangerous will be released, but we now know how much it will cost. The sprawling space sim—currently available in beta for £50/$75—will, for its release version, set players back a slightly more reasonable £40, €50 or $60. The announcement came as part of Frontier's latest newsletter , which also outlined the "Mercenary Edition" pre-order bonuses.

The pre-order pack is available now for a slightly discounted price of £35, €40 or $50. It won't allow players to join the beta, although existing beta participants will receive all bonus goodies. Those goodies include:



An additional Eagle fighter ship docked in a secondary location



Exclusive pack of ship paint jobs



A day one ship decal



A digital players guide



A digital concept art book



Plus additional in-game benefits and other digital goodies to be announced over the coming weeks



Pre-orders remain a risky endeavour, of course. While I've enjoyed multiple hours of Elite: Dangerous's beta, it currently doesn't take long to see the limits of the simulation. The scope of the full game is much greater, and for a cheaper price, but it remains to be seen if Frontier can deliver the promise that they're selling.