Much like the famous Nokia 3310, Elite Dangerous’s 2024 - that's the year 3310 to players - showed the longstanding space sim to be robust, durable, and as beloved as ever. It’s safe to say that 2024 surpassed many players' expectations. The game had an excellent year, with four new ships, the transformative new SCO drive, Powerplay 2.0, the ten-year Elite Dangerous anniversary, the 40-year Elite anniversary, an apparent end to the Second Thargoid War, and - as you’ll discover below in the videos created by Elite’s foremost content creators - a lot more. And that’s not to mention a partnership with Just About!

Here’s your year in review, your recap, your Elite Dangerous 2024 highlights, as determined by the commanders who play the game:

Elite Dangerous 2024 - The Year of Massive Change

We’ll start with this insightful 2024 recap video from RicardosGaming. As the intro states, “2024 has been a fantastic year for Elite Dangerous”, and Ricardo swiftly moves through what made it so special, from rebalanced engineering and changes to the galaxy map to the soaring player numbers at the end of the year. Watch below to find out why Ricardos believes 2024 has been “the best year yet” for Elite Dangerous:

Review of the Year, 3310

If you’re looking for detail, few channels are better informed than Galnet News Digest. Entered into our reward by Wotherspoon, one of its stars, this 38-minute video covers all you need to know about Elite Dangerous’s 2024. It’s a fantastically comprehensive recap, covering everything from narrative developments to dev updates. 

“3310 has been a busy year in Elite Dangerous! The conclusion of the Thargoid War, the new SCO drive, four new ships, improvements to engineering, and Powerplay 2.0. Let's hope 3311 is just as full of excitement and innovation, and perhaps slightly fewer Thargoids.”

Elite Dangerous - Major Events of 2024 

If you’d prefer a snappy overview and reminder of the key events of Elite Dangerous 2024, consider watching USCSS's 3310 recap video instead. Coming in at just under two minutes long, USCSS provides a brief but helpful timeline of the year’s most important happenings, covering everything from the assault on Titan Thor to the introduction of the stunning Elite Dangerous Mandalay.

2024 Highlights - Elite Dangerous

CMDR Henckes went for a ‘show don’t tell’ approach for their review of Elite Dangerous’s year. Short, sweet, and epic, the voiceover-free video kicks off with a commander looking up from the station as a string overture hints at hope for what’s to come. The next shot shows a glorious golden Mandalay lifting off from a station to soar through the stars. And so the video continues, showing off new ships and culminating with a faceoff with one of the Thargoid Titans that imperilled the Bubble throughout the year. 

Top Shift: 145 - Review of 2024 in Elite Dangerous

Phoenix_Dfire's warts-and-all video review is jampacked with insights, and it’ll be clear to any viewer that they have a deep understanding of the game and its development. It’s a detailed analysis of everything Elite Dangerous in 2024, contrasting low player expectations at the beginning of the year with the kickass year that was in fact delivered. 

3310 Year Summary - Elite Dangerous 

In another brief but brilliant recap, XCezor's video cuts together lots of short clips. When combined with the mellow acoustic guitar played over the top, it gives the feel of a story told around a campfire on a distant world. We can almost hear a bearded old commander, medals hanging from his tattered uniform, recounting: ‘That was the year the Titans returned, and humanity almost breathed its last.’

Elite Dangerous - The Battle for the Solar System 

“Hold the line, save the Earth.” Rather than a recap, Stoikiy has created a cinematic video revolving around the year’s most dramatic event: the Second Thargoid War. It’s ominous, high-octane, expertly cut together, and shows both the beauty and terror of the fight against these ancient enemies. It feels very much like a movie trailer, for a movie we’d love to watch. 

Alien Combat in Core Systems [Breaker Trailer - Elite Dangerous]

We’ll leave you with Gadnok's video. It’s testimony to how eventful Elite Dangerous’s 2024 was that Gadnok has created this video for their new YouTube channel trailer. It’s largely composed of footage from 2024’s defence of Sol against the Thargoid Titan Cocijo and the rest of those pesky Thargoid bugs. 

2024 was also the year that Frontier partnered with us for the creation of Just About Elite Dangerous. Running the community has been an absolute pleasure and we’d like to extend our thanks for letting us join you commanders on your journeys. Here's hoping that YC3311 is just as spectacular. Ad astra!

What were your personal highlights in Elite Dangerous in 2024/3310? What are your hopes and fears for 2025/3311? Let us know in the comments!

Some text has been edited for brevity, clarity, or spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can find the original wording here. Image credit: Frontier Developments and RicardosGaming