Gaming is an expensive hobby and giving players more of what they want but not upsetting them with unreasonable monetary situations is a potentially a difficult scenario. No one wants to feel they have to buy DLC to have the same basic experience as everyone else. One developer who absolutely grabbed the situation by the horns and gave it a good shake was CD Projekt Red. The Witcher 3 is a massive open world 100+ hour RPG. The sheer amount of content in this game is astounding. It doesn’t need bitty overpriced extras that would get lost the moment you installed them, and yet they recognised the desire we have for more. CD Projekt Red openly criticised DLC that was held back purely to make money and they announced they would be releasing a big batch of extra content that would be staggered over a period of time but free for everyone. That’s how you treat your customers. We were rewarded for buying the game, not for paying them extra. Their season pass instead became an Expansion Pass that would give access to two huge expansions. Hearts of Stone, the first expansion, gave players 10+ hours of new gameplay that wasn’t ready at the time but was then developed specifically to give fans more of what they want – tangible gameplay, a new adventure and more of Geralt’s swishy hair. Their second DLC due out later this year is reportedly twice the size of Hearts of Stone, clocking in at around twenty hours. This is what we want from our DLC. We don’t mind paying, but we want a substantial and brand new addition.
Bethesda took the decision to initially keep quiet about content for the Fallout 4 Season Pass. The absence of any DLC detritus immediately after release indicated that they did not hold back token content and that they intended to develop bigger expansions perhaps along similar lines to The Witcher or Skyrim, big fat slices of new stuff that would enhance and greatly expand The Wasteland. It’s exciting that they took the time to listen to fans and develop content we actually wanted. New stories, new Vaults, new settlements and crafting packs – oh my giddy aunt, think of the new Power Armor. A couple of weeks ago Bethesda finally announced their first three DLCs and we weren’t disappointed. They also announced that after a two week grace period the season pass would rise in price from £24.99 to a whopping £39.99. Why? Because they plan to keep on developing content, much more than they’d originally intended. That’s a lot of money for some add-ons, but if the first three DLCs are anything to go by, not only are we getting simply massive expansions, we’re getting all new, interesting and fun additions that will sink us deeper into the world of Fallout. Who wouldn’t want to build their own robot buddy?
DLC should be about extending an experience. It should not only be value for your extra money, but should add value to the original purchase. The first Witcher expansion felt like a mini sequel, a Witcher 3.25 that gave fans a chance to re-visit that world and play more of what they originally loved. DLC should not be purely about making money or luring consumers into pre-ordering, because that’s contemptuous and doesn’t embrace what playing video games is all about. DLC should be lovingly crafted additions made by developers who are just as passionate about their games as the fans who play them.
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