DLC

Downloadable Content, additional content for a released game sold separately from the base game, distributed digitally and downloaded by the player. DLC covers a wide spectrum: small cosmetic packs (character skins, weapon wraps) at the low end; mid-tier content packs (new maps, new character story missions); and large paid expansions that add entire new game areas, storylines, and mechanics comparable in scope to standalone titles at the high end. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (2024) and The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine are examples of expansion-scale DLC that are among the best content in their respective games, setting a high bar for what DLC can be. Season passes bundle multiple planned DLC releases at a discounted upfront price, a model that requires trust in the developer's future plans and fell out of favour as battle pass models provided more flexible monetisation. DLC has been a point of industry controversy when content appears to have been deliberately removed from the base game to create a paid upsell, a practice associated with Capcom's disc-locked content era (2011-2012) where DLC data was already on the purchased disc. Most publishers now distinguish clearly between paid narrative expansions (legitimate DLC) and cosmetic shops or battle passes (live-service monetisation), though the line between them remains contested.