The second DLC for released in December survival horrer The Callisto Protocol has released and it is remarkable, but not in a good way.

Never imagined being asked to pay for a harder difficulty level for a game. The bundle also includes cosmetics but it still feels cheeky charging customers for an extra hard mode.

One of the most highly anticipated titles of last year the base game released to mixed reviews (Metacritic 68/100 from critics and 5.5/10 from gamers) and publishers Krafton swiftly revised sales expectations from 5 down to 2 million copies.

The game was sold with a season pass, i.e. an up front fee for at least some future DLC (downloadable content) but minus any details on what exactly those would include.

As someone who didn't buy the game we shook our head in amazement while watching this trailer and said to ourselves, "Would never buy that."

But many of those people who paid half again the price of the base game for the season pass have now seen two very low value DLC roll out and are feeling buyer's remorse.

We genuinely sympathise with them but this is one of the risks inherent in a no-details-included season pass, which is probably the most common kind.

The economic reality is that games are a business and they won't pour more resources into making DLC than they'll recoup from sales - individually or from season passes.

Expecting base game sales to be fewer than half what they projected, they're also possibly in the red on that front and needing to balance that figure.

Spitting out thin DLC is a common solution.

Possibly some players will find genuine value in this additional difficulty level but it strikes us a low point in gaming monetisation.

The Callisto Protocol (base game) is available now on PC, Xbox One and X|S, and PlayStation 4 and 5.

The Outer Way Skin Collection and Contagion Bundle DLC are also available for separate purchase or as part of its season pass.

[ Main Image: The Callisto Protocol, Contagion Bundle DLC. Credit: Krafton via Steam. ]

References

GameSpot Trailers (March 15, 2023). The Callisto Protocol – Contagion Bundle Trailer. YouTube.

Metacritic. The Callisto Protocol [PC]. (viewed March 16, 2023)

Steam. The Callisto Protocol. Krafton. (viewed March 16, 2023)

Steam. The Callisto Protocol - Contagion Bundle. Krafton. (viewed March 16, 2023)

Steam. The Callisto Protocol - The Outer Way Skin Collection. Krafton. (viewed March 16, 2023)

Wolens, Joshua (January 18, 2023). Publisher slashes Callisto Protocol sales hopes by over half after it fails to meet absurd expectations. PC Gamer.