Respawn Entertainment made a splash at E3 last week when it showed off various aspects of the upcoming Titanfall 2, such as brand new mechs, grappling hooks and an actual single-player campaign. However, the highlight of its showcase was the revelation that it intends to release all future Titanfall 2 DLC free of charge.
In theory, this is a wonderful idea. In a world filled with bonus content in the form of exclusive preorder bonuses or otherwise, it becomes all-too-common for the communities in a video game — multiplayer ones in particular — to become divided based on what they have access to.
In fact, it was for that very reason that Respawn made that move in the first place, according to co-founder Vince Zampella, who said they were "giving away all the maps and modes" because they didn't want to "split the community."
Again, this is a wonderful idea in theory, but the reality of the situation isn't quite as peachy. Generally, DLC costs are paid for by players, and with no apparent intent to make players pay for any future DLC, there is no apparent way for Respawn to fund the creation of any future content down the road.
Zampella, as well as Respawn as a whole, is aware of this dilemma, and apparently has not reached a solution as of yet.
"We still want to provide post-launch content because people want it, but it's not free to do," he explained. "If we're going to support the game that costs money ... we haven't got everything solved yet so that's why it's really hard to talk about it."
So, what can Respawn do if it wants to release free DLC? Microtransactions.
Yes, microtransactions might be one of the most loathed practices in gaming today, but it is the first solution that comes to mind when discussing this. Of course, it doesn't have to go down the Call of Duty route — one of the leading reasons so many are leery of microtransactions to begin with — because there is another route available to Respawn: microtransactions like those seen in Blizzard's Overwatch.
Overwatch already is what Titanfall 2 plans to be: that is, a game with future content that will be released for free, so why not employ the same practices? Have future DLC be paid for by microtransactions, and the only things obtainable through them are entirely cosmetic.
With that said, there is still some worry about what the free DLC actually contains. Free DLC is awesome, but only if the base game has enough quality content with which to start out. If not, then the "free DLC" is actually just content cut from the base game and then released at a later date in a bid to drum up good publicity.
So, yes, Respawn is in a great position where it can make all of its fans quite happy — but only if it plays its cards right. The company says the purpose of the free DLC is to ensure that gamers are "happy with their $60 game," but that can go south in an instant if the base game isn't substantial and players are forced to fund future content that was already supposed to be there from the start.
