DLC - When is it okay to charge?

The topic of DLC and how it is delivered to consumers is a heavily discussed topic in the gaming community. But first of all, what is DLC?

DLC stands for Downloadable Content, it is a way to expand on an already existing game by adding a variety of things, be it features, areas or challenges to complete. DLC is always made by the original games developer; which keeps the creative direction intact and consistent. DLC is usually released a lot later after the game it is intended for, it is a way to breathe new life into a game. However, sometimes there is what is known as "Day One DLC"; which is DLC that is available on the first day of game release.

Now, this is where the controversy starts in regards to DLC and how it should be handled. A lot of gamer's feel that Day One DLC is a scam in it's own, as all game content that is available should be made available, with the game upon release. DLC should come after, as they developed it after the game's initial release, rather than making you pay for parts of the game, rather than the whole game, so to speak. Really these are quite shady business tactics to get more money, you can also get season passes that usually save a little on all the DLC should you choose to buy them separately, these also usually come with incentives such as early access to DLC.

My views are that any content that is made before the game's release date, should be packaged with the game. It was developed during the game's development cycle and is therefore part of the game. Essentially the developers are making people pay for parts of the game separately, awful.

Most recently, Metro: Last Light, developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver, asked players to either pre-order or pay for the hardest difficulty setting. This is exactly what is wrong, they should not be segmenting essential parts of a game, or even segmenting parts before release, then branding them as DLC. In some cases this is not the fault of the developers, but of the publishers who are forcing the developers to make some pre-order incentives so to get early sales, forcing people to buy under the influence of impulse buying to get certain perks.

The tides are beginning to change it seems however, as developer CD Projekt Red, creator of The Witcher game series, has announced that their DLC is to be free upon release so as to make a statement to the rest of the industry and their business practices. Sixteen pieces of DLC to be exact, which is enormous.

"This is our way of saying thank you for buying our game." - CD Projekt Red

"As gamers, we nowadays have to hold on tight to our wallets, as surprisingly right after release, lots of tiny pieces of tempting content materialize with a steep price tag attached, haven't we just paid a lot of cash for a brand new game?"

- CD Projekt Red

Amazing mentality to have to combat the greed, I do not mind paying for content that is developed after the game has been released, as it is extra work. But paying for content that was developed and finished before the game was released is shady at best. Including cosmetics, I believe should made available free of charge when the game is released.