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An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
,
tabletop game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a Table (furniture), table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, Tabletop role-playing game, tabletop role-playing games, or ti ...
,
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
,
collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. The genre was introduced with ''Magic: The G ...
or
miniature wargame A miniature wargame is a type of wargame in which military units are represented by Miniature model (gaming), miniature physical models on a model battlefield. Miniature wargames are played using Toy soldier, model soldiers, vehicles, and arti ...
. An expansion may introduce new rules or
game mechanic In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics define how a game works for players. Game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide player actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, wh ...
s that augment the original game and add more variety to playing it. In the case of video games, they typically add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, adventures or an extended storyline to an already-released game. While board game expansions are typically designed by the original creator,
video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...
s sometimes contract out development of the expansion pack to a third-party company, it may choose to develop the expansion itself, or it may do both. Board games and tabletop RPGs may have been marketing expansions since the 1970s, and video games have been releasing expansion packs since the 1980s, early examples being the '' Dragon Slayer'' games '' Xanadu Scenario II'' and ''
Sorcerian is a 1987 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom as the fifth installment in the '' Dragon Slayer'' line of games. Originally released for the PC-8801 Personal Computer, it has since been released on a wide variety of platforms. Gam ...
''. Other terms for the concept are module and, in certain games' marketing, adventure.


Characteristics

The price of an expansion pack is usually much less than that of the original game. As expansion packs consist solely of additional content, most require the original game in order to play. Games with many expansions often begin selling the original game with prior expansions, such as ''The Sims Deluxe Edition'' (''
The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game fran ...
'' with '' The Sims: Livin' Large''). These bundles make the game more accessible to new players. When games reach the end of their lifespan, the publisher often releases a 'complete' or 'gold' collection, which includes the game and all its subsequent expansions.


Stand-alone expansion packs

Some expansion packs do not require the original game in order to use the new content, as is the case with '' Half-Life: Blue Shift'', '' Uncharted: The Lost Legacy'', '' Dishonored: Death of the Outsider'' or ''
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik fro ...
''. Some art, sound, and code are reused from the original game. In some cases, a stand-alone expansion such as '' Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death'', or '' Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna'' includes the original game.


Console game expansion packs

Expansion packs are most commonly released for
PC game A personal computer game, or abbreviated PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer (PC). The term ''PC game'' has been popularly used since the 1990s referring specifically to games on "Wintel" (Micr ...
s, but are becoming increasingly prevalent for
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...
s, particularly due to the popularity of
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
. The increasing number of multi-platform games has also led to the release of more expansion packs on consoles, especially stand-alone expansion packs (as described above). '' Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath'', for example, requires the original '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'' to play on the PC, but Xbox 360 versions of both the original ''Tiberium Wars'' and ''Kane's Wrath'' are available, neither of which require one another. The Japanese version of
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
's ''
Beatmania (styled as ''beatmania'') is a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in December 1997. It contributed largely to the boom of music games in 1998, and the series expanded not only w ...
'' was the first game on the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
to support expansion packs, which were branded as append discs. These discs included additional tracks and required the original Beatmania disc (and later playable Beatmania game discs) to play. The discs required the player to access the Disc Change menu on the Beatmania disc, remove the Beatmania disc, insert an append disc, then press the start button to play. The first append disc for the game, Beatmania Append Yebisu Mix, was bundled with the PlayStation version as the game's 2nd disc, with subsequent append discs being released as standalone retail releases. '' Grand Theft Auto: London 1969'' was marketed as the first expansion pack released for the PlayStation. The game required the player to insert the ''London'' disc, remove it, insert the original ''
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is prima ...
'' disc, remove it, then insert the ''London'' media again in order to play. ''
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik fro ...
'' for the Mega Drive/Genesis was unusual in that it functioned as both a stand-alone cartridge and as an expansion pack for both ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' and ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog), ri ...
''.


Collectible card game expansions

Collectible card games, or CCGs for short, are typically released as expansion sets, composed of
booster pack In collectible card games, digital collectible card games and collectible miniature wargames, a booster pack is a sealed package of cards or figurines, designed to add to a player's collection. A box of multiple booster packs is referred to as a ...
s. CCGs may be referred to as "living" or "dead", and living CCGs are routinely published with supplementary expansions. CCGs generally do not have a core set that is reprinted indefinitely, instead, they are retired and replaced with new expansions on a quarterly or bi-annual basis. Expansions usually introduce new rules, or game mechanics, expanding the game's library of cards and rules set.


See also

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Downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
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Episodic video game An episodic video game is a video game of a shorter length that is commercially released as an installment to a continuous and larger series. Episodic games differ from conventional video games in that they often contain less content but are devel ...
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Mod (video games) Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general '' modding''. A set of modifications, commonly ...
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Special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Expansion Pack Video game development Video game distribution Video game terminology