Thargoids returning properly with Elite Dangerous 2.4
Borag thungg, Earthlets!
After yonks of warning signs, hints, puzzles, and tense first encounters in Elite Dangerous: Horizons [official site], the alien Thargoids are almost ready to start preparing to properly arrive in a bit. Frontier Developments have announced that the space 'em up's Update 2.4, codenamed The Return, will kick off story events that will finally see Thargoids return to Elite as a proper part of the game. Yup, the wait continues but the end is in sight. When the Thargoids arrive, Frontier say, they'll shake the galaxy up.
Thargoids are a powerful and mysterious who have appeared in previous Elite games but have, so far, only been a tourist attraction in Elite Dangerous. That will change with Update 2.4, which is slated to launch by the end of September. Frontier's announcement says:
"Elite Dangerous: Horizons 2.4 – The Return continues the Horizons season with ongoing story events that will see pilots thrust into battle against the Thargoids for the first time in gaming's modern age. More will be revealed in coming months about this terrifying alien menace as humanity's relationship with the Thargoids evolves throughout Elite Dangerous 2.3 and 2.4, bringing a new dynamic to the Elite Dangerous galaxy. Players will be forced to develop new tactics and technologies of their own, or see humanity's grip on our sectors of the galaxy recede."
So yes, exactly what they'll do is a little hazy. Presumably they'll be a menace roaming the galaxy roughing humies up but, y'know, we do deserve it. Me, I'd befriend the Thargoids and fly my own spaceshell to help wipe out the human menace, if I could. I don't know if that's possible. We don't know anything concrete about what Thargoids do.
Elite co-creator David Braben added:
"Story events have hinted at the Thargoids' return for a long time, but the Thargoids are returning at a moment when humanity is at its most divided. The Federation and Empire are at each other's throats, a second tiny human-occupied bubble has scattered humanity’s greatest pilots, and Thargoid scout ships are drawing near. They have already probed our space, infiltrated our starports and found humanity to be vulnerable. What happens next will be decided by every Elite Dangerous player."
Or perhaps it'll be decided by Harry Potter again.
Here's Braben again, excited about filling the galaxy with aliens:
