Developer Motion Twin has unveiled the first paid DLC expansion for its superb action-platform rogue-like Dead Cells. It's called The Bad Seed and it'll be making its way to PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One early next year.

Bad Seed is more accurately the work of Evil Empire - the splinter studio formed by ex-Motion Twin staff specifically to continue work on Dead Cells - and its headline feature takes the form of two new biomes, intended to offer headless adventurers new path choices in the early game, "ensuring that all players, no matter their level, will be able to enjoy it".

There's the Arboretum, described as "a lush paradise to deceivingly adorable creatures", and an overgrown settlement known as The Swamp, inhabited by blow-gunners, spear-wielders, and massive purple ticks. There's also talk of a new "exceedingly creepy" boss battle.

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To accompany all that, Evil Empire will be introducing a number of destructive new tools as part of its Bad Seed DLC. Teased so far are Dead Cells' first double-slot weapon and a "very dedicated and loyal mushroom companion". There's a small (by which I mean minuscule) glimpse of things to come in the announcement trailer above.

Bad Seed will launch some time in "Q1 2020", and Motion Twin says it'll cost $4.99 USD. It also assures players that Bad Seed's arrival won't mean an end to Dead Cells' free updates, and that more "free content, balancing, and systemic updates" are still to come.

There's also promise of a "little present for...holiday season this year", which the developer says will receive the proper reveal treatment closer to release.