What is DLC?

DLC stands for downloadable content. It's anything extra a studio releases for a game you already have installed, and that ranges from a paid story expansion to a free co-op mode to one new car in a racing game.

The developer decides whether DLC costs money or ships free.

How DLC works in practice

You buy or claim DLC from the same store that sold you the game, and it installs on top of the game you already have. Save files usually carry over, so progress stays where you left it.

Free DLC is a download you claim once. Paid DLC has its own price and its own store page, separate from what the base game costs.

Nothing about DLC makes it a standalone game. Remove the base game and the DLC stops working.

Expansions, cosmetic DLC, and season passes

• Expansions add things to play: new story, new maps, new characters, more hours.
• Cosmetic DLC only changes how things look, so skins, outfits, and paint jobs sit here. Gameplay stays the same.
• A season pass is one upfront purchase covering DLC that a studio has planned for a set period. You pay once and each drop unlocks as it releases.

The label on the store page tells you which one you're buying. Read it before you pay, because a season pass covers content that doesn't exist yet.

DLC in our PS5 guides

• House Flipper 2 ships a free co-op DLC, so renovation projects can be worked through alongside friends. The base game is a $39.99 paid download in our cozy PS5 guide.
• Assetto Corsa Competizione puts certain entries on the grid behind specific DLC, which we flag as the catch in our PS5 racing guide.
• Destiny 2 is a free download with expansions layered on since its 2020 listing, and that backlog is the reason it sits ninth in our PS5 multiplayer guide.