10 HUGE Games That Started As DLC
“Halo 3: ODST” (2009)
After Peter Jackson’s “Halo” movie and its tie-in game were canceled, Bungie found itself with a bit of free time. With part of the studio already working on “Halo: Reach,” the decision was made to craft a smaller campaign that connected to “Halo 3.” However, the team chose to focus on a different protagonist, which meant all kinds of new elements, from tweaks in gameplay to the open world environment of New Mombasa. Despite the campaign remaining relatively short, the project grew too big thanks to new additions and multiplayer modes. “ODST” was overall praised, though some took issue with it releasing at full price.
“Saints Row IV” (2013)
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In 2012, an expansion for “Saints Row the Third” was announced, titled ‘Enter the Dominatrix.’ It would’ve had players control a super-powered character trapped in an alien simulation. As many of you know, that’s the premise of “Saints Row IV.” Developer Volition actually planned to make a fourth game while working on ‘Dominatrix.’ But as its parent company and publisher THQ was going through financial problems, the decision was made to cancel that game and turn the planned expansion into a full release. THQ would file for bankruptcy before the game was finished. But Volition was purchased by Koch Media, which gave publishing rights to Deep Silver. “Saints Row IV” released the same year to solid reviews.
“Super Mario Galaxy 2” (2010)
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Mario’s 3D adventures don’t typically get direct sequels, with “Super Mario Galaxy 2” being the exception. Well, turns out, that wasn’t meant to happen either. Nintendo originally planned to release “Super Mario Galaxy More,” an updated version of the first game with new power-ups and levels. Development time was planned to be a year, but the scope of Nintendo’s ideas grew too large. The team decided to take these ideas and make a full-fledged sequel, and development time would stretch to two and a half years because of it. “Super Mario Galaxy 2” was well worth the effort, though, becoming one of the best games in the Mario franchise, let alone a 3D one.
“Skull and Bones” (2024)
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Ubisoft’s “Skull and Bones” has had one of the longest development periods in modern memory. The studio began work on the title in 2013, when it was planned to be an expansion for “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.” However, seemingly because everyone and their mother loved that game’s naval combat, Ubisoft decided to turn the expansion into a standalone pirate adventure. Unfortunately, that would prove to be a problematic decision. There were reportedly many internal struggles over what the game should be, and it suffered numerous delays because of it. Perhaps it would have been better off in its past life as the long slog to its February 2024 release didn’t drum up much excitement.
“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” (2002)
Following the release of “Grand Theft Auto III,” Rockstar was on top of the world. The game was such a huge success that the studio initially wanted to keep that train rolling. After releasing the PC version, the team then started working on additional content. According to producer Leslie Benzies, the plan was to create a mission pack with new vehicles, weapons, and, of course, missions. As was the case with many games on our list, the plans grew too big for a simple mission pack. Rockstar then pivoted, turning it into what would become “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,” which was just as well-received as its predecessor.
“Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name” (2023)
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Sega’s “Like a Dragon” series, formally known as “Yakuza,” has a ton of entries both mainline and spin-off. 2023’s “The Man Who Erased His Name” is set within 2020’s “Yakuza: Like a Dragon.” It looks at the events not from its new protagonist Ichiban’s perspective, but from that of the franchise’s main character, Kazuma Kiryu. The developers initially thought to put a Kazuma-centric sequence in 2024’s “Infinite Wealth,” but thought it would be more interesting as a separate experience. The story was then planned as DLC, before it grew a bit too large and became its own game. It’s nowhere near as long as a mainline entry, and was thankfully sold at a slightly lower price because of it.
“Assassin’s Creed Mirage” (2023)
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With newer “Assassin’s Creed” games receiving criticism for being too big and bloated, Ubisoft made 2023’s “Mirage” significantly smaller. It was marketed as a return to the franchise’s roots. But it was originally planned to be part of the problem. Set 10 years before his debut in “Valhalla,” the story follows Basim and how he became an assassin. Ubisoft envisioned it as an expansion pass to the 2020 game. Considering “Valhalla” got mountains of post-launch content across two years, we’re kind of glad Basim’s origin was allowed to stand on its own. With a campaign that takes around 15 hours to complete, it was better for it.
“Hollow Knight: Silksong” (TBA)
Yes, we know it hasn't been released yet. But we do know that “Hollow Knight: Silksong” A) began as DLC, and B) is planned to be larger than the first game, which was already pretty big. Team Cherry’s 2017 original blew all expectations out of the water, and received several post-launch updates. Another was planned to follow Hornet, a supporting character and sort-of antagonist. However, the team announced in 2019 that their work had grown too big, and that “Silksong” would be a standalone release. Cut to 2024, and we’ve gotten a ton of footage, but also a ton of delays with still no confirmed date as of writing. Team Cherry is a pretty small studio, so we’ll just have to be patient.
“Uncharted: The Lost Legacy” (2017)
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Following the success of “The Last of Us: Left Behind” DLC, Naughty Dog thought it would do something similar with “Uncharted 4.” “The Lost Legacy” was intended to be around the same length as “Left Behind.” However, the studio decided to follow Chloe, who was absent from the fourth game, and the supportive character, Nadine, who had only just been introduced in the series. This opened up new directions to go in, whereas “Left Behind” filled in the gaps of an existing story, and therefore couldn’t grow outside its confines. Naturally, “The Lost Legacy” grew beyond DLC and became a smaller, standalone release.
“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (2023)
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Though some liked to joke that “Tears of the Kingdom” was just “Breath of the Wild” DLC before launch, it did start out as such. In a 2019 interview with Kotaku, longtime producer Eiji Aonuma stated DLC is great for adding content to an existing world, but not for really changing it. And so when the team’s new concepts grew beyond what was capable, they decided to create a sequel. As we’d find out, “Tears of the Kingdom” was an exceptionally creative game with a world that bowed to your imagination. And it had two new maps in addition to an updated Hyrule. Know of any other games that started out as DLC or expansions? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!
