Operations is a major upcoming expansion for Elite Dangerous launching around April 2024, featuring cooperative, multi-phase missions that combine ship combat, boarding megaships, and on-foot action with new tactics and equipment. Tied to the Powerplay system, it offers unique rewards and scalable content, enhancing cooperative gameplay for PC players who own Elite Dangerous Odyssey, while still allowing others to enjoy the game without participating.
Operations is the upcoming major gameplay expansion for Elite Dangerous, expected to launch around April 2024. It introduces raid-like, instanced cooperative missions for up to four players, blending ship combat, on-foot action, and Surface Recon Vehicles (SRVs). Players will engage in multi-phase encounters involving space combat, boarding megaships or bases, and completing objectives inside hostile environments. These operations are accessible from any inhabited spaceport, eliminating long travel times and allowing players to instantly join missions with friends or through a lobby system.
The gameplay phases begin with ship combat, where squads fight off hostiles or defend objectives. Afterward, players board targets like megaships using specialized ships designed for insertion and extraction. The final phase involves on-foot combat in zero-gravity or low-gravity environments, requiring new tactics and equipment such as suit thrusters and mag boots. Objectives vary, encouraging different playstyles like stealth or direct assault, and extraction under fire adds an extra layer of challenge. Future operations may introduce diverse enemies, including the possibility of on-foot Thargoid encounters.
Operations are closely tied to the Powerplay system, offering merits that contribute to players’ pledged powers and helping undermine rival factions. Success in these missions grants unique rewards, including a new currency exclusive to operations. This currency can be used to acquire special modules, engineering blueprints, and cosmetic items not available elsewhere in the game, encouraging long-term engagement. However, participation requires owning Elite Dangerous Odyssey and playing on PC, as the expansion is not available on consoles.
Frontier plans to support Operations with multiple missions of varying difficulties at launch, followed by regular content updates throughout 2026 and beyond. The framework is designed to scale, potentially incorporating non-combat activities like mining in future operations. A feature reboot is also hinted for autumn 2026, though details remain unclear. While Operations add significant new content, players who prefer other playstyles like trading, exploring, or casual gameplay can still enjoy the game without engaging in these missions.
Overall, Operations represent a major evolution in Elite Dangerous, introducing cooperative, multi-phase missions that blend space and on-foot gameplay with strategic objectives and faction-based rewards. The expansion aims to deepen player involvement through unique rewards and Powerplay integration, while providing varied challenges and replayability. Although some details remain uncertain, Operations promise to enrich the Elite Dangerous experience for players seeking new cooperative and tactical gameplay opportunities.