When Should DLC Be Free?

The video game industry has seen a shift over the years from the physical retail space to the integration of digital content. Now before games are released we know about post-launch DLC, with season passes being a regular staple. We may have grown accustomed to the barrage of content unavailable at launch, but how fair is it, and should DLC ever be free?

DLC can be a blessing if done right. Though for every good use of it we get another incident involving horse armour. Good DLC can offer hours of content, adding longevity to games and making a DLC purchase feel worthwhile. A recent example of this is the spectacular Mario Kart 8 DLC which adds another 16 tracks, new characters and vehicles. This is essentially 50% of the main game's content and it arguably boasts some of the best tracks playable. DLC like this doesn't leave a sour taste in your mouth as it has been created in order to a extend a great game and make it even better. This shows that content is key and anyone who is paying for additional gameplay, should feel like they have gotten a fair deal.

Gamers put a lot of trust in developers. They wait anxiously for their most anticipated release and are sometimes met with a subpar product, or one that doesn't work at all. On top of this, we're seeing day one DLC and knowing about season passes months in advance of a release. Day one DLC can understandably be viewed as a money grabbing tactic by developers. When you have content locked behind a paywall, sometimes included with the disc, then gamers will be upset. It feels as if the product you're buying is incomplete and that you're not getting your money's worth. The flip side to this is that most of us don't know how expensive and time consuming it is to make a game. Saying this, if you feel that the product you've paid for has not been worth it then it's likely that the DLC won't make things much better.

I have no problem buying DLC if I think it's substantial enough to warrant a purchase. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood has recently launched and I think it's a perfect example of standalone DLC that is priced fairly. It being released in physical form helps associate the feeling of worth when purchasing it as well. What I do have a problem with, is when a game releases with so much DLC that it feels like it's missing a lot of extras. Evolve launched with this exact problem, boasting a staggering 44 pieces of additional content. Now these might have only been skins that players can easily ignore, but they could have been added as unlockables to make the game feel more worthwhile. This is on top of the season pass that provided players with four new hunters and more. On the plus side new maps and modes are available to players free of charge and the Goliath monster was a pre-order incentive, made free to those who pre-purchased Evolve. Still, asking people to pre-order a game nowadays is a big ask; with so many hashed releases gamers are rightfully. Thankfully if a release is botched, developers offer extra download incentives as an apology. We've seen this with Assassin's Creed: Unity, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and DriveClub. It's only right that customers should feel like they haven't wasted £49.99 or more and developers do strive to make things better post-release.

Realistically the majority of DLC will not be free. Games like Terraria do a great job of adding free DLC packs and Nintendo’s Pikmin 3, also released a number of new challenge maps free of charge as well. What I think developers could do is start making portions of extra content free of charge, to help persuade people to purchase expansions etc. If possible, giving customers access to a part of the DLC would help inform their decision and show them what they would be getting. It would seem an honest decision by the developer and consumers could avoid purchasing content, if they didn't feel they like it was worth their money.

Good DLC should feel like a smart purchase, something that offers hours of fun and additional content to a game you love. If that's the case then by all means go and buy it. With the multitude of options for DLC now though, you should be wary about what you purchase as it may not add anything to the game at all. Sometimes we do get free pieces of DLC and when this happens, gamers feel rewarded and developers get a chance to say thank you to all the people who took a chance on their product. Content and fair pricing are the keys to to extra content. Developers and publishers are businesses which will always be wanting to make money, but if it can do it at the right price, and with the right content then we should accept it. Microtransactions however can go to hell.

With DLC you have the possibility of exciting new content, extending great experiences into even better ones. Microtransactions on the other hand, whilst having a small price, lock content behind a paywall. They offer shortcuts for players to unlock items and weapons quicker than they would by playing the game. Even if busy people feel like this is a fair and reasonable practice, games should encourage people to play them,not to spend more money. This is why I believe that developers adding microtransactions into their games, should consider scaling difficulty so busy players can optimise their playthrough. And also that unlockable content should seem to the player to be obtainable, or at the very least players should feel rewarded by their gaming sessions.

DLC and microtransactions aren’t going away. Games such as The Simpsons Tapped Out and Candy Crush have proven that this method of monetization works. As gamers we should be excited by DLC and the possibilities that can come from it. Developers can now extend their games and make them richer and deeper experiences. They only have to do so with reasonable pricing and good content, to get fans on their side.