Elite: Dangerous is a multiplayer space trading and combat simulator that represents the fourth installment in the Elite video game series, and is currently in development by David Braben and his company Frontier Developments. In November 2006, GameSpot conducted an interview with David Braben in which the subject of Elite 4 came up. Braben revealed that Elite 4 began and ceased development as an MMORPG in 2000, abandoned due to the immaturity of technology for online play. In November 2012, Frontier Developments announced that the game was now named "Elite: Dangerous" [from Elite 4], and would be funded via Kickstarter.
Source: Wikipedia, "Elite: Dangerous," available under the CC-BY-SA License.