The distinguishing mark of Elite however was and is that you're free to do anything YOU want to do. Even when you've become Elite, there's no 'Congratulations, you've finished the game, now go and drink a cup of tea and talk to your friends again.' message. You just keep flying. There's no end, and no objective other than staying alive. Many people these days find that very disconcerting.
People expect there to be only one thing that they can do in order to progress in a game.
With the result that some people cheer if there's two different things they can do in order to progress. That doesn't make a game non-linear though. It merely makes a game bilinear. Elite gives you complete freedom. Because in many ways Frontier IS Elite.