Add-on content and expansions can take a game you already love and give it longer legs. Just like core games themselves, DLC ranges from great to not-so-great. One thing that is consistent, however, is how difficult it can be to keep track of. The games themselves end up in "best of" lists or top selling charts, but DLC can come and go under the radar even for people actively trying to keep track of it. To remedy this problem, we've decided to round up all the significant DLC of the year in one place. We'll mostly steer away from smaller add-ons like costumes and booster packs in favor of new missions, stories, and maps. Some DLC in the list is for games that released in 2013, but if the DLC came out this year then it gets a spot. Read on for an alphabetical listing of all the important DLC of the year.
Browse DLC by base game alphabetically: A-C | D-H | I-Z
Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry
PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360, PC
This content was originally released in 2013 as DLC for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. In February, Ubisoft released a standalone version.
Official Description:
"Born a slave, Adéwalé found freedom as a pirate aboard Edward Kenway’s ship, the Jackdaw. 15 years later, Adéwalé has become a trained Assassin who finds himself shipwrecked in Saint-Domingue without weapons or crew. He now has to acquire a ship and gather his own crew to free the slaves and avenge them. Over three hours of new single-player gameplay."
Game Informer's take:
"If only for the opportunity to play as Adéwalé, Freedom Cry is worth checking out. On one hand, getting more of the same content is disappointing. On the other, that content is what made Black Flag fun in the first place, so getting more of it isn’t exactly damning." – Joe Juba
Batman: Arkham Origins
PS3, 360, PC
Arkham Origins also released on Wii U, but the Cold, Cold Heart DLC was cancelled for that platform due to lack of demand.
Official Descriptions:
Initiation (Watch trailer)
"Travel back to the days before there was a Batman and take control of a young Bruce Wayne as he completes his martial arts training. Experience exotic locales including a bamboo forest and mountain-top monastery. This pack contains Bruce Wayne and Vigilante skins, four challenge maps, and a challenge campaign."
Cold, Cold Heart (Watch trailer)
"Return to Gotham City to ring in the New Year, Arkham Origins style. When the CEO of GothCorp is kidnapped by Mr. Freeze, Batman sets out to bring him to justice. Along the way, he will uncover the tragic history of his new enemy, prompting our hero to attempt the impossible: save the victim and the villain. Hours of narrative-driven gameplay and new open world content await."
Battlefield 4
PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360, PC
Battlefield 4's multiplayer expansions started in December 2013 with China Rising and will conclude at some point this year with the fifth expansion Final Stand. These packs can be purchased separately or as part of Battlefield Premium.
Official Descriptions:
China Rising (Watch trailer)
- Take the fight to the east and dominate on four exotic, all-new multiplayer maps: Silk Road, Altai Range, Guilin Peaks, and Dragon Pass.
- Jump into your jet or heli and dominate the dogfights in the Air Superiority game mode, where two teams fight for control of the skies.
- The fan-favorite Dirt Bike makes a triumphant return in China Rising, and the new Bomber lets you bring massive destruction from above.
Second Assault (Watch trailer)
- Destroy the ceilings of the flooded Operation Metro. Bring down the communications tower of the new Caspian Border. Create flammable hazards on Operation Firestorm and dodge Gulf of Oman’s sand storm. Second Assault pushes the fan-favorites to their limits.
- With five weapons re-mastered for Battlefield 4, the return of the Dune Buggy vehicle, 10 new assignments, and the Capture the Flag game mode, Second Assault combines familiar grounds with all-new features.
- Caspian Border is a true Battlefield 4 classic, and in Second Assault the map has been redesigned with Frostbite 3 graphics, Levolution moments, and a breath-taking autumn setting.
Naval Strike (Impressions and trailer)
- Lost Islands, Nansha Strike, Wave Breaker, and Operation Mortar. These four all-new maps set in the South China Sea are designed for intense naval action among shipping docks, fishing villages, and rocky islands.
- An homage to Battlefield 2142's Titan mode, the Carrier Assault mode, challenges you to bring down a huge aircraft carrier of the enemy team by launching missiles.
- Use the new amphibious ACV Hovercraft to travel seamlessly between land and water, and take insane shortcuts to get the upper hand in the naval battles.
Dragon's Teeth (Watch trailer)
- Sunken Dragon, Propaganda, Pearl Market, and Lumpini Garden. These four all-new maps are designed for urban combat among modern high rises, pristine parks, bustling alleyways, a floating restaurant, and grey concrete.
- Dragon's Teeth introduces the new Chain Link game mode, that brings another layer of depth and strategy to the multiplayer mayhem. Act fast and link together capture points to secure the win.
- Among the new gadgets in Dragon's Teeth is the R.AW.R., a controllable unmanned ground vehicle armed with a machine gun and grenade launcher.
Final Stand
- Final Stand moves the fight into the grand Russian wintry landscape as the war closes in on its epic conclusion. Beyond the frozen bays and beneath the snow lies secret military installations filled with high-tech prototype weapons, gadgets and vehicles radically changing the face of the battle.
BioShock Infinite
PS3, 360, PC
For those interested, an arena combat DLC also released called "Clash in the Clouds." The real meat for BioShock fans is in the two-part Burial at Sea episodes, which released several months apart.
Burial at Sea – Episode One
Official Description:
Come back to Rapture in a story that brings Booker and Elizabeth to the underwater city on the eve of its fall from grace. Developed by Irrational Games, the studio behind the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite, this DLC features Rapture as you’ve never seen it before – a shining jewel at the bottom of the ocean, built almost entirely from scratch in the BioShock Infinite engine. The combat experience has been rebalanced and reworked with a greater emphasis on stealth and resource management to give the player a combat experience that merges the best parts of BioShock and BioShock Infinite. It includes a new weapon, an old favorite weapon from the original BioShock as well as the return of the weapon wheel, a new plasmid, new gear, and tears. Explore the city when it was at the height of its beauty, meet some old “friends,” and make some new ones, all through the eyes of Booker DeWitt. Why are Booker and Elizabeth in Rapture? What was the city like before everything fell to pieces? The answers to these questions and more will be found in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1.
Game Informer's Take:
"On one hand, I’m thankful Irrational Games took this unconventional approach to DLC. Instead of re-using all of the same assets from Infinite, the team recreated Rapture and found a way to meld successful elements from several games in the series. On the other hand, the additions are minimal at best, leaving players to go through the same motions with a different backdrop." – Joe Juba
Burial at Sea – Episode Two
Official Description:
See the world through Elizabeth’s eyes in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode Two. Set immediately after the conclusion of Burial at Sea – Episode One, this final episode puts you in the role of Elizabeth as she journeys through Rapture in an effort to rescue the little sister she abandoned. Developed by Irrational Games, the studio behind the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite, this continuation of the Burial at Sea saga features parts of Rapture you’ve never seen before, includes modified stealth-oriented gameplay that brings you new weapons and plasmids, and involves nearly every major character from the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite.
Game Informer's Take:
"This episode concludes the Burial at Sea story arc, which is one of the highlights of the whole experience. I don’t want to ruin anything, so I’ll just say that fans of the series will enjoy the returning characters and the way the worlds of Rapture and Columbia intertwine."— Joe Juba
Call of Duty: Ghosts
PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360, PC
The four Ghosts expansion packs all contain four new multiplayer maps and an episode of the Extinction co-op mode. The first two packs also include new weapons. The DLC is available in a season pass or individually.
Official Descriptions:
Onslaught (Watch trailer)
- Fog: A dark and eerie campsite set alongside a fog-shrouded lake – inspired by classic horror films. Fog also harbors a dark secret…
- BayView: Set on a coastal Californian boardwalk, BayView is a small, tight, fast-paced run-and-gun map. Look out for deadly artillery strikes from a Naval Destroyer anchored offshore.
- Containment: This smaller-sized map is set along a dry riverbed in a war-torn South American village. At the heart of the map is a small bridge with a truck containing leaking radioactive material.
- Ignition: Inspired by Scrapyard – the fan-favorite Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map – Ignition drops players into an aging space launch facility in Florida.
- Maverick: A dual-purpose assault rifle/sniper rifle.
- Extinction - Episode 1: Nightfall: The first installment in Extinction’s four-part episodic narrative. At a remote facility in the Alaskan wilderness, the shadowy Nightfall Program has been researching the origins of the “Alien” threat. When the scientists lose control, a small team of elite soldiers must retrieve the intel and exterminate hordes of savage creatures while surviving a three-story tall terror unlike anything they’ve faced before.
Devastation (Watch trailer)
- Ruins: A mountaintop Mayan ruin overrun by the jungle, Ruins’ skyline is dominated by an ominous volcano on the brink of eruption.
- Behemoth: Situated on a massive bucket-wheel excavator (BWE), one of the largest vehicles ever created, Behemoth is a narrow, multi-level map.
- Collision: Having collided with a New York bridge, the resulting wreckage of this cargo ship provides the setting for Collision.
- Unearthed: Inspired by Dome, the fan-favorite map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Unearthed drops players at the heart of an alien dig site.
- The Ripper: Providing players with two different configurations: medium to short-range capability as a Sub Machine-Gun (SMG), and medium to long-range as an Assault Rifle (AR). This unique 2-in-1 weapon has the ability to switch from SMG to AR and back again on the fly in the midst of battle.
- Extinction - Episode 2: Mayday: In the aftermath of Episode 1: Nightfall, the Quick Reaction Force team is sent in to investigate a high-tech ghost ship adrift in the South Pacific.
Invasion (Watch trailer)
- Departed: A medium-sized map set in a rural Mexican town amidst the Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) celebration.
- Pharaoh: In an archeological site of an Egyptian palace this medium-sized map includes a collapsing monument, urns full of flesh-eating scarabs, and other surprises.
- Mutiny: Set in a cove on a Caribbean island. Mutiny comes packed with “treasures” for you to discover.
- Favela: Favela is a refreshed version of the fan-favorite MW 2 map.
- Extinction - Episode 3: Awakening: Descend into the perilous depths of an alien underworld. There you will encounter new Cryptids: Gargoyles, Bombers, and Mammoths that guard the Ancestors’ lair.
Nemesis (Watch trailer)
- Goldrush: An abandoned gold mine’s intricate network of narrow tunnels and perilous shafts create the ideal setting for medium to close range combat.
- Subzero: Set in a Canadian submarine base that has inexplicably been evacuated, with the control room, submarine pen, and research facilities left eerily empty.
- Dynasty: A Chinese lakeside village surrounded by picturesque mountains.
- Showtime: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's “Shipment” re-imagined as a futuristic death arena.
- Extinction - Episode 4: Exodus: Following your dramatic escape in Episode 3: Awakening, and the successful recovery of Dr. Cross and the cortex, your CIF Unit has flown in to help fight off the Cryptid army laying siege to the last bastion of human resistance.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
PS3, 360, PC
This sequel wasn't quite as well received as the first Lords of Shadow, but playing as Alucard sounds cool.
Revelations (Watch trailer)
Official Description:
Play as Alucard in this extensive add on for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The immersive story is expanded further as new branches of the plot are uncovered, along with rich new environments and challenging puzzles. Fight creatures of darkness and discover the true extent of Alucard’s involvement in Dracula’s story, his deal with death, and his fight against Satan. Experience a whole new aspect of the thrilling conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, including some enlightening revelations!
Child of Light
PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC, Vita
The Golem’s Plight Pack (Read full game review)
Official Description:
The Golem's Plight Coffer contains the Golem quest, which unlocks another powerful ally to fight alongside Aurora. Also included in the pack are the unique, powerful Erin's Stone and a pack of smaller Rough oculi: three Blue, three Red and three Green.
Company of Heroes 2
PC
Relic is taking care of both multiplayer and single-player fans in Western Front and the upcoming Ardennes Assault.
Official Descriptions:
The Western Front Armies (Watch trailer):
The first Standalone Multiplayer release for Company of Heroes 2. The focus shifts back to the Western Front, depicting some of the most brutal fighting of World War II in the darkest days of the conflict. The addition of the U.S. Forces and the German Oberkommando West brings two entirely unique factions that will forever change the shape of multiplayer combat. Each Army has distinctive tactical gameplay options, new infantry, team weapons, vehicles, abilities and upgrades on a total of eight seasonal multiplayer maps set on the Western Front. The Western Front Armies also includes a new progression system that introduces other unique content into the game and enables players to dive deeper into the tactical and strategic aspects of the game than ever before.
Ardennes Assault (Watch trailer)
Inspired by the conflict that Winston Churchill once described as “undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war” – the Battle of the Bulge. The new campaign content will see players take control of the U.S. Forces in this pivotal World War II battle in the densely forested, strategically critical Ardennes region of Western Europe. They will face huge tactical and navigational challenges as they strive to repel a surprise attack from the relentless German Oberkommando West forces in 18 brand new, single-player scenarios. Available on November 18, 2014.
Browse DLC by base game alphabetically: A-C | D-H | I-Z
Next: Head to page two for DLC info on games starting with "D" through "H."