Elite Dangerous is carving its own path as it releases its second expansion by making the first one available free of charge to all players. Typically, games will release bundles that contain all the expansions together, but it isn't common to see this approach taken. This means that players will be able to partake in everything that the first expansion, Horizons, has to offer without spending a dime on it.
Of course, those Elite Dangerous players that already bought the expansion aren't left high and dry. As a thank you to players that supported the game financially, a new spaceship paint job called Azure is being given out to everyone that owned the expansion beforehand. This paint can be applied to any of the 41 existing ships and gives a deep blue hue.
Making Elite Dangerous: Horizons free as part of the base game will mostly help new and returning players. For those considering getting into the game, it can be a daunting and expensive task to clear the base game and have to purchase and play through two expansions as well. Bundling the first expansion into the base game is a great way to get around this. Likewise, it could serve as a way to draw players back that stopped playing and never bought the expansion.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey releases next year and is sure to bring a whole new set of exciting content for fans to explore. This likely wouldn't be for years down the line, but it's possible that this expansion will also be made free once the third expansion is revealed assuming the precedent set here is upheld throughout the game's life time.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey releases in 2021.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun