Phil Spencer Not a Fan Of “Manipulative” Game Expansions; No “Top Down Mandate” for DLC

With Microsoft pushing hard for its games to be available on Game Pass on day one, could pushing for DLC and expansions, which everyone has to pay full price for, be a lucrative way to capitalize on the subscription model’s huge user base? Even if that’s the case, Xbox division boss Phil Spencer mentions that there’s no special policy forcing game makers to push for expansions in their games.

This was something Spencer confirmed in an interview with Game File (subscription required), where the exec clarified that there is no “top down mandate” on expansions, stating, “It’s really left to the creators [regarding] what plan they have for their stories. I think it’s a great way for us to reengage players who may be lapsed.”

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Does Not Want DLC To Feel Like Cut Content

Continuing the conversation, Spencer notes, “I don’t like expansions that are manipulative,” he said. “I want it to have a unique point of view. I don’t want it to be, like, the third level that you cut before you launched.” Using Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion as an example, Spencer mentions how it adds a new class, while Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC gives players a whole new world.

Speaking of Starfield, Spencer mentions the time he had a conversation with Todd Howard, the acclaimed game director at Bethesda, about keeping the balance between adding new features and releasing a full-fledged expansion. “Todd and I were talking about Shattered Space. Starfield is a game I put a ton of hours into and really love, but they’ve had this thing where they’ve added features throughout the year and then they had an expansion. I think some of the feedback on the expansion is: ‘We wanted more features.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, should we have waited to put buggies out? And so, I think you’re trying to tune both development effort and the impact of the expansion. And I think there will always be a balance to managing the game month to month. But not every game will do expansions.”

This is definitely the right mentality and something we hope other execs follow as well. While expansions are a good way to prolong a game’s lifespan and earn extra revenue, it shouldn’t be something mandated just for the sake of revenue. This is also why not all DLCs are built the same, as some feel like they’re cut content being sold separately, while others feel like a love letter to the fans (such as FromSoftware’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring).

How do you think developers and publishers can balance adding game features for free and offering paid expansions? Sound off and let us know in the comments.

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