It's quite possible that Killing Floor 2's only crime was releasing in 2016, a year that saw a disproportionate number of high-quality first-person shooters release all around the fall season. Releasing in November, right around the same time as Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, Killing Floor 2 really had to fight to be noticed among the crowd.
But developer Tripwire Interactive hasn't waved the white flag yet, announcing today a huge content update titled "Tropical Bash," which introduces, among many other things, a brand new island-themed map that features an erupting volcano.
The list of details for this free, yes free, update is impressive, with a new weapon, adjustment to weapon classes, new achievements, new emotes, a new enemy in addition to the new map. You can see the full details of this update on Killing Floor 2's website.
What this all amounts to is a positive sign of the future of Killing Floor 2. With such an infamously lengthy Steam Early Access period, many reviewers and players wondered how much Tripwire Interactive had left in the tank. They had already updated the game numerous times before a full release, even optimizing it for PS4 Pro, so what more could they really add, and what more did they really want to add?
Tripwire has assured us all along, through a series of Steam blog posts, that they would have a roadmap of post-launch content, but this is the first concrete example of the kinds of updates we can expect. Tripwire has given us no indication that they're done, or even close to done, with Killing Floor 2, and the Tropical Bash update is a promising start.
What's even more promising about it is it's price tag – a steep $0.00. Tripwire spoke about the price in a PlayStation Blog announcement of the Tropical Bash update, saying "we strongly believe in not splintering the player base by charging for map packs. This way we ensure that all players can play together all the time because they all own the same maps."
But their commitment to free, post-launch content seems to go far beyond maps, with the addition of weapons and enemies as well. In the past, they have also promised new game modes, at least one new boss (which Killing Floor 2 desperately needs), and the return of seasonal events, such as the ones in the original Killing Floor. If Tropical Bash is anything to go by, all of those additions could also be free of charge, which would make the purchase of Killing Floor 2 back in November well worth it.
