Breaking into the free-to-play FPS space is incredibly difficult, but it’s something that Delta Force has succeeded in doing so far. The military shooter’s free multiplayer offering, which takes on both Battlefield and extraction games like Escape From Tarkov, has been well received and attracts strong player counts on Steam, and later this week it’ll introduce its Black Hawk Down campaign. However, less than 48 hours before it launches, developer Team Jade has announced a last minute u-turn – a very good u-turn, mind you. Delta Force’s Black Hawk Down campaign will no longer be a paid DLC – it’ll be free for everyone.
There’s been plenty of excitement for Delta Force’s campaign. For fans of both the Ridley Scott movie and the Delta Force Black Hawk Down FPS game from way back in 2003, it will be an intense recreation of the Mogadishu storyline. For those currently enjoying its multiplayer action, it’s also just a chance for more content – the campaign can be a solo experience or a co-op one if you’ve got regular squadmates to play with. As was revealed to PCGamesN in my chat with game design director Ricky Liao, you’ll also be able to earn cosmetic items exclusively in Black Hawk Dawn that you can then flaunt in multiplayer matches.
However, Black Hawk Down was always positioned as a paid DLC add-on to Delta Force. Even when a short delay was announced at the start of the year, Team Jade still maintained it would set players back some cash. I was starting to get a little bit nervous that, as we edged towards its new release date, the developer hadn’t yet disclosed what price Black Hawk Down would be – I feared that some severe overpricing was on its way. However, in an unexpected turn of events, it turns out that the campaign won’t have a price at all.
“This content is free for everyone,” Team Jade says in a new post about Delta Force’s imminent campaign. “We made this decision as we previously stated that all playable content would be free.”
In a separate post on X, Team Jade calls this “a gesture of gratitude” to everyone that’s played Delta Force since its open beta launch last December. This is certainly a pleasant surprise that will win a lot of favor and respect with the game’s players, but the sceptic in me does now worry about how high the quality bar will be if Team Jade’s willing to hand it out to all players free of charge. Regardless, this is still great news.
The Delta Force Black Hawk Down campaign will now launch for free on Thursday, February 20 at 6pm PST / 9pm EST and Friday, February 21 at 2am GMT / 3am CET.
For more titles that you can play without spending a dime, check out our list of the best free PC games. Alternatively, if you want more experiences that drag you into the heat of a military battle, here are our favorite war games.
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