Square Enix releases a Deus Ex: Mankind Divided DLC, 'Covert Agent,' previously exclusive to pre-order customers only, to all players -- and it's completely free.

When Square Enix announced it would be releasing the sixth installment in its wildly popular Deus Ex series, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, there was a ton of expected hype. What too existed was a push for Deus Ex fans to pre-order the upcoming release. Square Enix attempted to incentivize the early ordering with a bunch of digital add-ons that would come bundled free with the title. However, due to overwhelmingly negative response, Square Enix cancelled the pre-order program.

In another potentially misguided move, Square Enix has released Deus Ex: Mankind Divided DLC to all players for free. The DLC, titled 'Augmented Covert Agent Pack' or simply 'Covert Agent,' was previously a pre-order exclusive. As of today, when any player loads up Steam to dive into the game, they will automatically receive the 'Covert Agent' DLC at no additional cost.

Included in the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided DLC are a newly-skinned combat rifle and pistol, the in-game Desperate Measures mission, a few extra consumables, and various skins for Adam Jensen's armor and trench coat. Players will also find three digital books tied in with the DLC: the Deus Ex: Hardline novella, an artbook, and a short comic entitled "The Dawning Darkness." Perhaps the least exciting portion of the DLC is a mini patch that promises to fix crash troubles and weapons inventory bar glitches.

For those who did not pre-order Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, being able to snag the latest DLC at no cost can be seen as a treat. Likewise, for those who were wary of the company's credibility after witnessing the hack of Square Enix Europe's Twitter account earlier this week, this move might be enough to pull them back into the company and its Deus Ex series.

Contrarily, however, releasing a previously pre-order only DLC to all Deus Ex: Mankind Divided players at absolutely no cost is sure to upset a number of people. Many have already expressed their annoyance at Square Enix's decision. Additionally, given how rocky the gaming experience has been for some -- including Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's PC issues and the many crashes and bugs players face in the game -- Square Enix releasing this DLC for free might be the tipping point for some.

While it is not unheard of for companies to offer originally free DLCs (usually included in pre-orders, like in this case) as paid ones down the line, it does seem strange that Square Enix would release this DLC to everyone for free -- especially after so heavily marketing the exclusivity of the pre-order content.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was released on August 23, 2016. It is available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Macintosh operating systems.

The 'Augmented Covert Agent Pack' DLC is available now to all Deus Ex: Mankind Divided players. It is currently free on Steam, and will load upon game boot.