Immortallium's Blog Posts

I think it’s fair to say that I’m a big fan of PC gaming. The PC is my primary only gaming platform and while I have a few problems with Steam, the platform has become my go-to for acquiring and playing PC games. However, something that I’ve been thinking about for some time (you’ll see later in this article how long that has been) is why the original prices of games on Steam are hardly ever reduced outside of sales.

Interestingly, this question has been on my mind for a long time. I recently remembered that I complained about this very issue in a letter I had sent to Total PC Gaming (anyone remember that magazine) and, after a little bit of searching, I managed to find it in the December 2008 copy! Close to 13 years ago! It actually amazes me to realise how long I’ve been pondering this issue but, thanks to a few recent news stories and a very helpful website, I finally feel capable of tackling this issue.

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.