Kerbal Space Program dev pledges free expansions after fan outcry

The developer of indie sandbox title Kerbal Space Program has told Eurogamer that current owners of the game will receive all future expansions for free.

The offer applies to all those who already own the game's alpha build, and anyone who buys a copy before the end of April.

The decision comes in the wake of an outcry by Kerbal Space Program fans, who launched themselves into a fury when developer Squad mentioned a paid-for post-release expansion.

That idea clashed with the company's previous promise that all "updates" would come free, fans said. Updates meant bug-fixes and not huge expansions, Squad argued.

"[It's an] admittedly quite grey area concerning what constitutes an update or an expansion to KSP and, most importantly, what our promise of 'all future updates for free' actually means," the game's executive producer Adrián Goya explained to Eurogamer.

"It's quite obvious now that we need to rephrase that statement so everyone knows exactly what they're getting when they purchase the game.

"Given that this was a point of confusion, and that we believe that no matter what, a promise is a promise, we are including expansions in what you can expect to get for free if you have already bought the game. Also, for those considering purchasing the game, we will maintain this promise for all purchases made until the end of this month."

Squad said it had no firm details yet on what any post-release expansions might contain.

"Over the course of the two-and-a-half years we've been developing KSP, we've come across many ideas that we thought were very cool, but didn't really fit the original scope of the game. Those would have led us astray from our vision of the complete game, not to mention that they could take many months, if not years, to implement.

"Those ideas are massive undertakings, which is why we'd like to have them as optional additions, so we could have them without having to stretch the scope (and deadlines) for the main game."

Goya concluded by apologising to any Kerbal Space Program fans who had been upset by the recent drama.

"We take pride in being very open and honest about what we do and how we do it, and we all felt very hurt at some of the accusations that were thrown at us these last few days.

"Above all else, our goal is to make an outstanding game, and we sincerely hope everyone sees that we have nothing but the best intentions towards our work and our community. As always, we will be listening wholeheartedly to our community's feedback, concerns and ideas throughout this whole process and we will not slack off.

"Here's a big thanks to everyone for all the continued support, and a heartfelt apology to all those who felt wronged in any way over this matter."