DLC Should Not Detract from Game Quality, Says Bethesda

Bethesda Softworks has become well known for the quantity of downloadable content that it releases for its titles, be they The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or Fallout 3, but the company insists that it is mainly focused on delivering the best experience it can in the base game, with thoughts about DLC only coming to the fore after launch.

Speaking to MCV Peter Hines, who is one of the executives at Bethesda Softworks, has said, “If you are nine months out and you are still thinking of good content, then that probably goes into the game, right But there’s no point in planning the content that comes after because what if this content makes the base game better? We want the base game to be the best thing possible. We don’t believe in carving out a little part to sell as DLC later.”

He detailed how the company works by talking about Fallout 3, adding, “With Fallout 3 we knew what the first one or two pieces of DLC were going to be, but the third one was a reaction to the release of the game and the feedback we got from people wanting to raise the level cap.”

The quality of the DLC released by Bethesda is not always on par with that of the original game, but the company has managed to extend the life of its games via additional content and bridge the gap between installments, like that going from Fallout 3 to New Vegas.

At the moment Bethesda is working on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is set to be launched on November 11 of this year, and has already announced that it plans to create DLC for it that is more significant than that launched for previous titles.

Before that, Bethesda will also release the id Software-made RAGE first-person shooter during October.