How much does DLC content actually sell?

[OniluapL]

In recent times, there are a lot of conversations about the necessity of season passes, DLC content and stuff like that to keep funding games, and that makes perfect sense.

I was just wondering... how much DLC content (not microtransactions, just the expansions and extra content (missions, campaigns, costumes, or the occasional big expansion etc) contributes to the overall revenue of a game? It's obviously cheaper to make and has a bigger profit margin, but it's also usually waaay cheaper in price and, obviously, they reach less people, so I'm not sure if it's that meaningful (It could be, though, I really don't know)

So, do we actually have sales figures for how much, for instance, the new DLC for XCOM 2 sold? Or the season pass/gold edition for Resident Evil with the DLC campaigns? Or Blood and Wine for Witcher 3? Stuff like that, I'm just curious. Are there numbers showing the percentage of players that usually buy a season pass of a AAA game, or that bought a specific piece of DLC?

 

[ZhugeEX]

Usually around 10% to 20% of the installed base total depending on the value / quality.

Of course that is a rough average and a lot of games can have a higher attach these days. The Zelda DLC for example was notably above the 20% normal.

MTX actually has a much higher attach these days, in that nearly 50% of game owners are willing to buy that $.99 credits pack. Contrary to popular belief, more and more console gamers are spending on MTX.

 

[Deleted member 22585]

I was just wondering... how much DLC content (not microtransactions, just the expansions and extra content (missions, campaigns, costumes, or the occasional big expansion etc) contributes to the overall revenue of a game? It's obviously cheaper to make and has a bigger profit margin, but it's also usually waaay cheaper in price and, obviously, they reach less people, so I'm not sure if it's that meaningful (It could be, though, I really don't know)

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It's a goldmine for publishers. Last year, Ubisoft for example made more money from MTX than from digital game sales in a 6months period for the first time and it's still growing. All that while this content is produced way cheaper as you already said. Big publishers like Activision and EA are making billions every year with MTX.

 

[BrunOz]

dunno but I wonder, maybe SFV Chun-Li costumes funded Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

 

[lordlad]

dunno but I wonder, maybe SFV Chun-Li costumes funded Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

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the feasibility of the next darkstalkers depends on chun-li costumes actually.

 

[feint_ruled]

Possibly some insights could be gleaned from the Trophy rarity percentages on DLC, as these are based off ownership of the full game, not the DLC. And on that note, I don't think I've ever seen one that was not 'rare' (the cut off for which being 25%).

I remember reading in Eurogamer that one on the reasons that pubs moved from online passes (codes in the box) was because a very sizable percentage of buyers never even bothered to type in the code. So I think a lot of people don't intend to engage with a game beyond the base experience. (And with the sheer amount of games out there, who can blame them?)

 

[OniluapL]

Usually around 10% to 20% of the installed base total depending on the value / quality.

Of course that is a rough average and a lot of games can have a higher attach these days. The Zelda DLC for example was notably above the 20% normal.

MTX actually has a much higher attach these days, in that nearly 50% of game owners are willing to buy that $.99 credits pack. Contrary to popular belief, more and more console gamers are spending on MTX.

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Thank you! 20% seems in line with what I expected, and it's still a pretty high number considering how much a successful AAA title sells, I guess. 50% of players buying MTX actually surprised me, though.

It's a goldmine for publishers. Last year, Ubisoft for example made more money from MTX than from digital game sales in a 6months period for the first time and it's still growing. All that while this content is produced way cheaper as you already said. Big publishers like Activision and EA are making billions every year with MTX.

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Yeah, I know, I was excluding MTX in this case, because they clearly make a TON of money, i'm just not sure about the rest.

 

[Deleted member 22585]

Thank you! 20% seems in line with what I expected, and it's still a pretty high number considering how much a successful AAA title sells, I guess. 50% of players buying MTX actually surprised me, though.




Yeah, I know, I was excluding MTX in this case, because they clearly make a TON of money, i'm just not sure about the rest.

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Yeah it's often hard to seperate because the lines are blurred. Story expansions and missions, as ZhugeEX already said, have a way lower attach rate. But that's also depending on the kind of game, Destiny for example would have a higher attach rate than DLC for a purely singleplayer game.

 

[Twiz]

I've been buying Rock band DLC for a decade. Wait, am I a whale??

 

[Phil32]

I've been buying Rock band DLC for a decade. Wait, am I a whale??

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You're a rock lobster.

 

[EatChildren]

AFAIK the Mass Effect trilogy DLC always did very well. BioWare had built a culture of DLC purchases in their fanbase.

 

[Talon]

Usually around 10% to 20% of the installed base total depending on the value / quality.

Of course that is a rough average and a lot of games can have a higher attach these days. The Zelda DLC for example was notably above the 20% normal.

MTX actually has a much higher attach these days, in that nearly 50% of game owners are willing to buy that $.99 credits pack. Contrary to popular belief, more and more console gamers are spending on MTX.

Click to shrink...

Not surprised at microtransactions. I suspect that a lot of the core gamers here and on gaming forums in general overlook how the mass market chooses to buy things. People underestimated how much the Switch would sell for the same reason.