One of the hottest sources of contention with video gamers is the idea of paid downloadable content.
Many argue that the $60 price of a game alone should cover any future game additions, DLC included. Others believe that developers' use the concept of DLC to continue ripping off gamers long after they've bought a game.
Stil others argue that it's not fair to use DLC to tell additional game story, especially if it's something that can explain and possibly even wrap up a title's storytelling.
But game developers keep making DLC, mostly because gamers keep buying it. Yes, it costs an additional amount of money to keep playing a game you already own, but the benefits far outweigh the costs.
It might not be the popular opinion, but we're here to argue why DLC won't be the death knell to gaming that everyone thinks. Please note that DLC here doesn't include microtransactions, which is a far more contentious topic.
Long Game Development Cycles
Something that has become clear recently is that game development cycles just get longer every year. This often results in delays, which are all too common in today's gaming industry and make it more difficult for developers to get games to players in a reasonable amount of time. If developers plugged all of their ideas for additional content into a game, that would delay games even longer.
Considering that many of today's games already include 100+ hours of gameplay, players won't miss that additional content. It's likely that some of the game's original content also gets cut when meeting deadlines, too, but developers keep those ideas in mind and use those for DLC.
In this way, gamers aren't getting screwed by developers: they're getting the top-notch games that they paid for in a timely manner.
But there's another thing going on during a game's development. Writers, texture artists, 3D renderers and level designers end up with a lot of free time on their hands at the end of a game development cycle: their work is over. Often, they get put to work on DLC, which means they don't just sit there twiddling their thumbs while the rest of the development team puts the finishing touches on a title.
It Helps Developers Recoup Costs And Put More Money Into Future Games
Games aren't cheap to make, especially with today's technological demands by gamers. Getting that game to look fantastic and work as perfectly as possible doesn't just take time, it takes money. Developers and coders can't work for free and most modern games require a lot of people behind each one: just watch the title credits for a game like Skyrim, which boasts more than 700 names.
Even with charging $60 for each game, that's some serious overhead for studios to absorb. DLC gives those studios a chance to make sure that they can keep paying people to work for them.
Of course, one could argue that developers need to raise the price of games. But how much will gamers actually pay? They're already complaining that $60 is too much, and many players wait for price drops before playing some of the bigger titles. Passing this cost on to the consumer at so early a stage in the game's retail life could prove a death knell for many titles and their developers.
DLC Expands A Game's Lifespan
The beauty of DLC is that it allows you to dive back into the world of a game that you love and revisit it in a new way. It often unveils even more story, but also lets you explore a world that you're already invested in.
For example, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt DLC expansion "Hearts of Stone" adds to the overall feel of the game, as well as offers a new romance option for the main character. It even reveals a side of Geralt never seen before, and opens up new areas on the already huge map of the base game.
Another good example is the Dying Light DLC "The Following," which opens up a huge area of the map and adds a few new features, like a buggy that can not only kill zombies but also helps Kyle Crane travel from point A to point B more quickly. It adds to the initial game, plus gives players some new story and background to dive into.
Certainly, having more time in your favorite fictional worlds is worth a few extra dollars, especially when those additions were lovingly created by the developer to add to the overall game experience.
DLC Finishes The Story
In many cases, a game's ending just doesn't always satisfy certain gamers. Often, the endings leave us wanting more, even if those endings result in a main character's death. Some DLC allows players to move beyond those endings to find out what happens next.
Dragon Age: Inquisition had an ending, certainly, but it left one major plot point, seemingly a mystery, open: what happened to Solas? At the end of Inquisition, Solas disappears with enigmatic words, and the Inquisitor only has a few teases as to why he's gone.
In the "Trespasser" DLC for that game, though, not only do players find out what happened to Solas, but they also finally get an official answer about who (or what) he is. And it gives the game closure, but also still leaves events open for Dragon Age 4.
One might argue that developers should create better endings to begin with, but as was the case with Mass Effect 3, gamers are a picky lot: some might find certain game endings satisfying, while others might find them frustrating and confusing. DLC helps the latter, while extending the game experience for the former.
