Highlights

  • Horizon's tradition of post-launch DLC reflects industry trends, enhancing the game's storyline and keeping players engaged beyond the main plot.
  • Expectation for a big DLC in Horizon 3 is high, following the success of previous expansions like Frozen Wilds and Burning Shores.
  • The potential post-Nemesis plotline in Horizon 3 offers an exciting opportunity for expansion pack content and continued exploration of Aloy's adventures.

Every video game franchise has unique patterns, with idiosyncracies stretching to seemingly mundane details such as time between releases, post-launch campaigns, and even spin-off cycles. Horizon is no different, and fans of Aloy's journey to save the Earth from forces that would love to see it destroyed are familiar with Guerrilla Games' traditions at this point. It's been a year since the Burning Shores DLC took gamers to the volcanic ruins of Los Angeles, and all eyes have since panned to speculation about Horizon 3's development. With tradition in mind, it stands to reason to expect the next installment to feature a full-blown DLC like its predecessors.

In the modern gaming era, the post-launch campaign for a new title can be as essential as the base game, as the thirst for more content grows in droves. Given the game-saving potential that DLCs are known to possess, as in the ever-impressive case of Cyberpunk 2077Phantom Liberty, it's basically assumed that every new release will get some form of additional content to beef up the initial release's storyline. Not one to be left out from trends, Horizon has obeyed this principle since it burst onto the scene in 2017 through its critically acclaimed Frozen Wilds (and more recently, Burning Shores) content packs, and there's even more logical backing behind a DLC for Horizon 3 in the aftermath of the showdown with Nemesis.

Horizon Aloy
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Horizon 3 Should Realistically Feature One Big DLC

DLCs in role-playing games, while typically not belonging to the linear overarching storyline of the base game, usually offer a refreshing perspective in a world after the completion of the main plot. Horizon: Zero Dawn took things to the next level with its details, going beyond the sidenote plot expected of DLCs in its Frozen Wilds expansion.

Zero Dawn and Forbidden West's DLC Calendars Hint at Horizon 3's Post-Launch Plans

Arriving in the same year as Zero Dawn's release, Frozen Wilds brought a host of new enemies in the Daemonic Machines class that dynamically challenged gamers' abilities. The progression from going through the motions at levels 40 and above in the base game to duking it out with tougher enemies made Frozen Wilds an instant hit.

In the case of Forbidden West, in the aftermath of its explosive finish, it wasn't clear how Guerrilla Games would carve out a DLC without spoiling the next installment's perceived Nemesis premise. The developer composed a similar tune to Frozen Wilds in Burning Shores, continuing to build out Aloy's adventures -- albeit in something of a corrective effort for Forbidden West's shortcomings. The second mainline edition was understandably preoccupied with the Far Zenith and the bigger universe picture, and Burning Shores redirected its focus to Aloy's personal stories.

Horizon 3's DLC Could Picture Life After the Nemesis Threat

Burning Shores took just over a year to debut after Forbidden West's release, and judging from the pattern of DLC release periods in the Horizon franchise, the same timeline should apply to Horizon 3. Horizon Forbidden West's sales data backs up Guerrilla Games' strategy of favoring a single DLC over multiple smaller packs, and the uniformity of the pricing for its additional content has contributed to this achievement. Although things could still change in Horizon 3, the status quo is expected to remain untouched, especially with the prospect of Aloy's tale as gamers know it coming to an end.

In keeping with tradition, Horizon 3 has an enviably clear path for its DLC content to follow. However the trilogy's tale might end, the developer could allow players to explore Earth (or whatever remains of it) after the epic showdown between the franchise heroine and Nemesis for the future of humanity. It's still unclear what to expect plot-wise from Horizon 3; whether Aloy fails in her quest, Nemesis somehow loses, or the tale continues on another planet. In terms of story continuation, however, Horizon 3 has the soundest logical path to include DLC, and Guerrilla Games' tradition should continue in the upcoming title.