In one week, Hollow Knight’s second expansion, Grimm Troupe, will launch on the PC. This is good news for any fans of the original, Metroidvanias, Souls-likes, and basically the entire gaming community since the DLC is completely free.

While many AAA titles have developed new ways to profit from titles – whether that’s Loot Boxes, Microtransactions, or match-making systems – indie developers are going in a decidedly different direction. Namely, they are putting out their game, and when it is received well and liked, they are making DLCs or expansions and then giving them away for free.

With Hollow Knight sporting a Steam score ranging from ‘Very Positive’ to ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’, Team Cherry could have quite easily charged for Hidden Dreams, their first DLC, or Grimm Troupe, and not only would fans have bought it, they wouldn’t have blinked an eye. In fact, among the only developers out there that would think this is the norm would be the team behind Shovel Knight.

Shovel Knight, one of the undisputed kings of Indie titles, may be attributed with leading this trend. Following the release of Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games began working on several expansions for the characters Shield Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight. Each expansion was not only a lengthy game with its own unique story, mechanics, bosses, and NPCS, but they were extremely polished. And they were all free.

This may have something to do with the origins of both games. Both Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight found their start on Kickstarter, and it was through community support that they were given the chance to release their titles. It may simply be that an experience like that engenders a sense of giving, or that they still feel they owe the community that gave them so much, or maybe it’s just a Knight thing. Either way, we are glad for it.

Hollow Knight: Grimm Troupe releases October 26 for the PC.