Starhawk map packs will be free for everyone!

In an unexpected launch day announcement, Lightbox Interactive has confirmed that all map packs for Starhawk will be free.

"There was a lot of discussion here at LightBox Interactive and Sony Santa Monica on how best to support the community and keep our player base all together as one cohesive group," LightBox president Dylan Job wrote on the PlayStation Blog. "We really didn’t like how in Warhawk when we released a new map pack, it forced these divisions on our players. And after we released three expansions, our player community was pretty fractured. With Starhawk that ends!"

That means all present and future map pack releases will be completely free.  On top of that, Lightbox has already started working on the next map pack.  Below are a few "early sketches" from the new planet of Cypress, a lush, swampy world that's home to an abandoned research facility that many years ago was responsible for researching the mysteries of Rift Energy.

With that being said, Starhawk will have some paid DLC content in the future.

"We’re still playing around with what that will be. We’re going to be looking to see what the player feedback is on Starhawk in the coming weeks to help steer the DLC that we develop for you all," Job concluded. "This is our commitment to all of you, the players. I hope you all get a chance to enjoy Starhawk – not only with today’s retail release but for the months and years to come!"

Starhawk is now available in North America for PlayStation 3.  It is set to release tomorrow, May 9, in Europe.