Prison Architect's Cleared for Transfer expansion is free and out next month on PC

Incarceration-themed management sim Prison Architect is expanding again next month, courtesy of the free Cleared for Transfer expansion, which comes to PC on 14th May.

According to publisher Paradox Interactive, Cleared for Transfer is designed to introduce more complexity so that veteran Wardens can "flex their management muscles".

There's the new transfer system alluded to in the expansion's title, enabling players to shift prisoners between sectors with different levels of security, and it's possible to define requirements for lower-security sector transfers.

To complement these additions, players can assign certain privileges to different sectors, with the idea being that prisoners in high-security areas can see the benefits received in other sectors, hopefully encouraging them to behave well enough to qualify for transfer.

Cleared for Transfer also makes it possible to initiate actions like shakedowns, tunnel searches, and lockdowns by security sector; plus there's expanded room grading, new customisation objects, and more room options include a new gymnasium.

Alongside today's expansion reveal, Paradox announced it will be taking over publishing duties for Prison Architect on Xbox One, PS4, and Switch. Double Eleven, who handled console publishing previously, will continue to develop the game, as it has done since original Prison Architect studio Introversion sold the rights at the beginning of last year.