<\/p>\n
DLC is almost an inevitability in many big games, with players almost always expecting a big expansion that adds large drops of more content quickly after a title\u2019s launch. While there are some great examples of expansions that exceed player expectations, such as Elden Ring<\/em>\u2018s Shadow of the Erdtree<\/em> or Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>\u2018s Phantom Liberty<\/em>, many have lacked quality that justifies an additional price tag. Some titles have DLC that is incredibly lackluster, lacking the quality that expansions of the past once provided.<\/p>\n Part of the trend of DLC being faster and featuring less content comes with the shift of some franchises into live service models. The monetization practices of live service games make expansions even more expensive, but usually without including the wealth of content players usually anticipate with new content drops. Some genres have developed unhealthy DLC release practices, leading to disappointing trends that may need correction.<\/p>\n Image Courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment<\/p>\n AAA games or incredibly popular titles usually have players demanding for extra content in some way, even if their structure doesn\u2019t really support it. Sometimes, DLC can be a way to include content that didn\u2019t make the final cut of a game, such as the multiple patches for Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> that were released for free years after the RPG\u2019s release. Other expansions, like the \u201cThank You Update\u201d<\/em> for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33<\/em>, are small and free expansions to not only appreciate community support, but provide small improvements to otherwise great titles.<\/p>\n However, other popular titles take those player demands and try to craft huge expansions, re-working aspects of their game and re-selling them as alternative products. Even single-player experiences like Ghost of Yotei<\/em> feel the need to provide a big DLC expansion, introducing multiplayer and live service elements that feel unnecessary compared to the base game. Similarly, big fighting games in recent years almost always launch with a promise of additional characters through multiple waves of DLC.<\/p>\n The nature of expansions for big games create impossible expectations, as players desire more content almost immediately after a game is released. Bigger titles almost have to plan for their DLC in advance, but even if they have no intention of creating any expansion, fans still demand for more. Now, series like Assassin\u2019s Creed<\/em>, Pokemon<\/em>, and God of War<\/em> even have DLC of some kind, with each of varying quality that have left fans either temporarily satisfied or largely frustrated. Compared to the scale of DLC of the past, the mandatory feeling of expansions now tends to lack any excitement.<\/p>\n The existence of DLC as \u201cleftover\u201d content holds true in a variety of titles, almost feeling like a compromise with players who are demanding more. Additional story chapters for Marvel\u2019s Spider-Man<\/em> felt like this, with extra missions featuring fan-favorite characters like Black Cat. While these did offer some additional expansions to the story, they were hardly of the same quality as the narrative tied to the base game. This fact is likely what led to Marvel\u2019s Spider-Man: Miles Morales<\/em> becoming its own spin-off title, rather than a simple expansion.<\/p>\n This approach is a sharp contrast to DLC of the past, which marketed itself as being grand new ways to experience a game you already liked. Some of the expansions for World of Warcraft<\/em> were events, creating completely new content and almost entirely new experiences. The idea behind DLC used to be totally opposed to treating it as \u201cleftover\u201d content, meant to fill in a game that rushed to release by having to cut corners in the hopes that it would be successful enough to add what it lost later.<\/p>\n Many of the DLC expansions released today can be somewhat rushed, not adding anything substantial to a game that players enjoyed. In the past, expansions used to be a re-invention of a title, sometimes redeeming poor base games with truly memorable expansions of its gameplay, story, or more. DLC was an opportunity for games to try something new, such as the original Red Dead Redemption<\/em>\u2018s Undead Nightmare<\/em> DLC creating a completely non-canon zombie apocalypse mode that deviated from its Wild West realism.<\/p>\n The almost guaranteed aspect of DLC to any popular game has made the idea of expansions less interesting as a result. Instead of largely unexpected enhancements of already great titles, expansions feel like a game of catch-up to finally release the product that players were first marketed. In many cases, expansions feel like they need to make up for mistakes rather than craft a meaningful evolution of a title for players to enjoy.<\/p>\n What do you think of DLC and expansions in today\u2019s gaming landscape? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DLC is almost an inevitability in many big games, with players almost always expecting a big expansion that adds large drops of more content quickly after a title\u2019s launch. While there are some great examples of expansions that exceed player expectations, such as Elden Ring\u2018s Shadow of the Erdtree or Cyberpunk 2077\u2018s Phantom Liberty, many<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[7088,614,7087,206],"class_list":{"0":"post-7195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-releases","8":"tag-arent","9":"tag-dlc","10":"tag-expansions","11":"tag-game"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Large Expansions For Popular Games Feel Mandatory, But Can Often Be Disappointing<\/h2>\n
Expansions Tend To Act As Leftover Content That Couldn\u2019t Make It Into An Official Release<\/h2>\n
Very Few Titles In Recent Memory Have Created Truly Memorable Evolutions Through DLC<\/h2>\n