Fallout 3 DLC Is Just the Right Size

One of the biggest surprises related to Fallout 3, the first game developed by Bethesda in the series that includes Interplay classics such as Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, was the dedication of the development team related to creating and quickly shipping downloadable content for the title on quite a tight schedule.

But such little gems like The Pitt would not have been possible if Bethesda had not cut its teeth on the creation of DLC for Oblivion, its previous role playing game project. On that title, Bethesda created such public relation nightmares like the famous “Horse Armor” that recently saw its price increase (probably to show its importance to the game) but also quite enjoyable content that extended the game and offered new quests, like the Knights of Nine DLC pack, which is “substantive and it adds multiple hours of game play and new items,” as Pete Hines, vice president of Bethesda, puts it.

The developer has recently settled on the model of creating DLC that is about four to five hours long and that can be sold to gamers for less than 10 dollars. Such a price makes it easy for players to pick it up while the content offered is set to be enough to re-engage them with the original releases while also offering them something new to look forward to.

At the moment, Bethesda is working on Broken Steel, which is the last announced downloadable content pack for Fallout 3. It is also the most ambitious, with Pete Hines saying that it will allow gamers to continue playing after the resolution of the main quests, while also introducing new perks and raising the level cap to 30, from the current 20.

Let's hope that it will also offer players more of the interesting choices of The Pitt and less of the combat alleys that appeared in Operation: Anchorage.