Those who have already picked up "the best damn spaceship game" Ars has ever played may be pleased to hear that they'll soon get the steam version of Elite: Dangerous for free. That also applies to anyone who backed the game's Kickstarter campaign, and for any new purchases made on the Frontier Developments website.

While there's a certain amount of goodwill attached to giving away Steam keys, it's more likely that Frontier Developments is keen to keep sales on its website and away from Valve's steep 30 percent cut.

"We always appreciate it when you buy direct from our store because it means we can put more into supporting and developing Elite: Dangerous," wrote Frontier Developments' community manager Edward Lewis in a forum post, "but we know a number of long-time players and backers like to play through Steam and we think it’s fair everyone has that option, not just new players."

Interestingly, it looks like Elite: Dangerous owners will be able to generate their own Steam key from within the game, which should make the transition over to Valve's service that little bit smoother.

"Elite: Dangerous runs on Frontier’s servers," continued Lewis "so we’ve been working with Valve to give you a way to seamlessly connect your Steam and existing Frontier accounts in a way that’s easy. It’s coming soon. From May 28 you’ll be able to generate a Steam key from your account page, and we’ll have full instructions right here on the forums closer to the time."

If you've been holding off on Elite: Dangerous, now might be the time to grab a flight stick and jump on board. As well as Steam support, there's the game's upcoming Power Play expansion to look forward to, which aims to give players more direction by adding more compelling story elements. Power Play is launching on May 20.