Elite Dangerous' long-overdue Fleet Carriers get another six month delay Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Elite Dangerous' long-overdue Fleet Carriers get another six month delay While Frontier addresses "recent and longstanding issues". News by Matt Wales Reporter Updated on 23 Oct 2019 25 comments Elite Dangerous' already long-overdue 16-person Fleet Carriers will no longer arrive this December as previously announced, and are now expected to launch some time next year. Fleet Carriers, as previously detailed by developer Frontier, are capital ships intended to function as a base of operations for large, organised Squadrons. They can be purchased (for a significant amount of credits) and piloted by a single Commander, but feature 16 landing pads to accommodate a full complement of players. All of which sounds very exciting - just as it did when the feature was originally unveiled in 2017. Back then, Fleet Carriers were announced to arrive as part of 2018's Beyond update. However, as Beyond's fourth and final chapter neared release last October, Frontier revealed that Fleet Carriers had been "reprioritised". It later announced that they'd finally be implemented this December, a full year after their originally planned debut. Watch on YouTube Now, however, Frontier has announced another six month delay for Fleet Carriers, this time moving their launch into "the second quarter of 2020". This, explained community manager Will Flanagan in a post to the Elite Dangerous forum, is so that the team can "refocus [its] efforts on addressing key issues and bugs". As Flanagan noted, the space sim's September update introduced "a number of issues and bugs which caused a lot of frustration". Given the problems still evident in the game despite a series of patches and fixes, Frontier says that all updates into 2020 will "focus almost exclusively on addressing recent and longstanding issues". Updates will be rolled out roughly every three to four months, with a public beta being held prior to each release in order address any major issues that appear. The first of these betas is currently scheduled for December. Flanagan also took a moment to reiterate that the Elite Dangerous team is still hard at work on the space sim's mysterious next "major milestone" update. Frontier previously called this particular project "a defining moment in the history of the game" and "our biggest update yet". It's expected to arrive in the latter half of 2020. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store