Microtransactions and DLC (Downloadable Content) are becoming more and more prevalent in the gaming industry and have elicited strong reactions from gamers as a whole, both good and bad. Recently, controversy erupted when documents were leaked that showed how much pressure Electronic Arts are applying to gamers playing FIFA 21 to spend money on loot boxes for gameplay purposes. Taking this into account, I thought it might be worth examining microtransactions and DLC and whether they are a necessary evil in the modern video games industry.
First, we should briefly discuss the history of microtransactions and DLC. The historical precursor to microtransactions and DLC were expansion packs which were typically restricted to the PC platform. These expansion packs would typically add new game mechanics, areas, stories, quests etc. to a game and would usually not work without the original game in question although you did occasionally see the release of stand-alone expansions which could run by themselves. While most consoles prior to the seventh generation of consoles did not have access to online features, a few precursors did exist. Most notable was the Sega Dreamcast which did have built-in internet support and saw several games receive small DLC such as costumes or challenges that were released for free.
With the beginning of the seventh generation of consoles, we saw both Sony and Microsoft make a concerted effort to develop online services. These services allowed game developers to begin releasing content, both large and small, digitally and seemingly removed the limit of how big the content had to be before it could be sold. One of the most infamous examples of this was Horse Armour. Released only a few weeks after the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the Horse Armour DLC merely added the ability for a player to get armour for their horse either through a quest or by buying the armour from a NPC vendor and granted a minor buff to their horse’s health pool at a price of $2.50 on Xbox or $1.99 on PC. Players were outraged at how little content was provided for the price but, and this is important, the DLC still sold well, reaching the top 10 DLC sold for Oblivion for that year.
Of course, that’s not to write off DLC as a whole. There have been plenty of DLC that have been released since then that have been absolutely brilliant and were very worthy of their price tag. I’ve made no secret of my love and admiration for the Dark Souls series and I consider both the Artorias of the Abyss DLC for the first Dark Souls game and The Ringed City DLC for Dark Souls III to be some of the greatest DLC of all time. That’s not to mention many other brilliant DLC such as XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea, the two Witcher 3 DLC’s Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine and so many others.
However, the issue arises when we see microtransactions exploiting gamers for purely financial gain. One of the most infamous examples of this was the Star Wars Battlefront II controversy where loot boxes gave in-game advantages to players willing to spend money, also referred to as “Pay-To-Win” and this is something we’re seeing again with FIFA 21. You would think that, considering all the controversy surrounding microtransactions, that companies would stop resorting to them. However, there is a very clear reason why microtransactions continue to persist.
Despite all the complaints that gamers make, there is no denying how financially successful this format is, sometimes even more so than the traditional model. EA, the company at the heart of many microtransaction controversies, noted that they only made about 26% of their revenue from traditional game sales with the rest coming from DLC, microtransactions etc. When you think of the most profitable games of recent years such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact etc., you realise that all of these games revolve around a free-to-play, microtransaction heavy model. As long as microtransactions prove profitable, it’s inevitable that game developers and publishers are going to adopt this model.
As long as people continue to spend money on microtransactions, we’re going to continue to see games developed that rely on this revenue source. While not all microtransactions or DLC are necessarily evil, it is ultimately up to us, the consumers, to decide whether to support this practise or not. Let me know if you think microtransactions and DLC are a necessary evil in the modern video game industry, what some of your favourite DLC are, whether you spend money on microtransactions and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.