Yooka-Laylee developers tease free DLC as next stretch goal

The Kickstarter for Yooka-Laylee, the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie that was announced in April, is humming right along, having earned more than £1.5 million ($2.4 million) on a goal of £175,000 ($274,000). But if that total can be pushed past the £2 million mark in the 35 days before the clock hits zero, Playtonic Games says the first DLC release will be free for all backers.

"The entire Playtonic team would like to offer its sincere thanks to everyone who has backed the Yooka-Laylee campaign so far. Our intention from the beginning was to use Kickstarter as a means to improve our game, and by helping us reach an incredible £1.5 million you’ve shaped it into one fine specimen," the developers wrote in today's Kickstater update. "Our next stretch goal, if reached, will be used only to further improve and polish Yooka-Laylee, and give something back for your amazing support. Namely, we’ll release our first post-release DLC pack free of charge for all backers."

Presumably to head off complaints about content being cut from the game and held back for release as DLC, the studio emphasized that work on the the additional material won't begin until after the game itself is in the hands of backers. "When—and only when—we’ve finished and shipped the full version of Yooka-Laylee, we’ll start work on additional content that will be distributed to backers free of charge for their platform of choice," it added. "And again, all additional funding will of course go towards improving and polishing the game."

The Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter runs until June 16.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.