With the advent of the Xbox, Microsoft was the second company to implement downloadable content.
These online features were still considered a breakthrough in video games, but the competing PlayStation 2 did not ship with a built-in network adapter. The Dreamcast was the first console to feature online support as a standard DLC was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a memory card. They often required an installation of the original game in order to function, but some games (such as Half-Life) had "standalone" expansions, which were essentially spin-off games that reused engine code and assets from the original game. While the GameLine and Sega Channel services allowed for the distribution of entire titles, they did not provide downloadable content for existing titles.Įxpansion packs were sold at retail for some PC games, which featured content such as additional levels, characters, or maps for a base game. A similar service, Sega Channel, allowed for the downloading of games to the Sega Genesis over a cable line. The earliest form of downloadable content were offerings of full games, such as on the Atari 2600's GameLine service, which allowed users to download games using a telephone line. See also: Digital distribution in video games
Furthermore, this led to the creation of the oxymoronic term "on-disc DLC" for content included on the game's original files, but locked behind a paywall. Since the popularization of microtransactions in online distribution platforms such as Steam, the term DLC has become a synonymous for any form of paid content in video games, regardless of whether they constitute the download of new content. Since the seventh generation of video game consoles, DLC has been a prevalent feature of most major video game platforms with internet connectivity. While the Dreamcast was the first home console to support DLC (albeit in a limited form due to hardware and internet connection limitations), Microsoft's Xbox console and Xbox Live platform helped to popularize the concept. In some games, multiple DLC (including future DLC not yet released) may be bundled as part of a " season pass"-typically at a discount in comparison to purchasing each DLC individually. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using some type of microtransaction system.ĭLC can range from cosmetic content, such as skins, to new in-game content such as characters, levels, modes, and larger expansions that may contain a mix of such content as a continuation of the base game. Additional content for a video game distributed via online storesĭownloadable content ( DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher.
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