DLC
Downloadable content (DLC) refers to additional digital assets, such as expansions, new story chapters, cosmetic items, or gameplay modes, created for a video game and distributed online separately from its core release, typically requiring purchase or a subscription through platforms like Steam, PlayStation Network, or Xbox Live.[1][2] This model emerged in the late 1990s amid early experiments with internet-based game updates but gained prominence during the seventh-generation console era (circa 2005–2013), when widespread broadband access and integrated online services enabled seamless post-launch delivery.[3] DLC has since become a cornerstone of the industry, allowing developers to prolong game relevance, foster player engagement through iterative updates, and secure recurring revenue streams beyond initial sales.[4] Notable examples include expansive narrative additions like The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, which rival standalone titles in scope, demonstrating DLC's potential to elevate base experiences.[5] Despite these benefits, DLC has drawn substantial criticism for practices perceived as exploitative, including the resale of content allegedly excised from the original game to boost profits—a phenomenon termed "cut content" monetization—and the blurring of lines with microtransactions that fragment player progression behind paywalls.[6] Academic analyses highlight how such strategies contribute to "perpetual commodification," transforming games into ongoing revenue vehicles at the expense of perceived completeness and fairness to consumers who pay full price upfront.[7] These tensions underscore broader debates on digital ownership, where players often receive revocable licenses rather than permanent assets, amplifying scrutiny over value extraction in an industry valued at billions annually.Video games and digital media
Downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) refers to supplementary digital material for video games, distributed via the internet after the base game's launch, typically requiring separate purchase or sometimes offered for free. This content extends gameplay through elements such as new levels, characters, weapons, story expansions, or cosmetic items like skins and armor.[2][9] The practice originated in the late 1990s with PC titles leveraging online distribution; for instance, Total Annihilation (1997) provided monthly free unit downloads as expansions.[10] Paid DLC emerged prominently in the mid-2000s amid broadband proliferation and console online services like Xbox Live (launched 2002). A landmark example was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's Horse Armor pack (March 2006), Bethesda Softworks' first major paid cosmetic DLC at $2.50, which sold millions despite initial player mockery for its perceived triviality.[11][12] DLC types include full expansions (e.g., The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, 2015, adding substantial narrative and areas), cosmetic/microtransaction packs (e.g., skins in Fortnite), and seasonal passes bundling multiple releases for upfront payment. Free DLC, like patches or events, contrasts with paid variants but often funnels into monetized ecosystems. By enabling post-launch revenue, DLC contributes to industry models where base games serve as loss leaders for ongoing sales, with microtransactions and DLC generating significant income alongside initial purchases.[13] Criticisms center on "day-one DLC"—content allegedly withheld from launch to boost profits—and fragmentation of experiences, where core features feel incomplete without extras, fostering perceptions of commodification. The Horse Armor release is frequently blamed for normalizing low-effort, high-margin cosmetics, paving the way for pervasive microtransactions in free-to-play titles, though sales data indicate sustained consumer demand. Player reception varies: expansions often praised for value (e.g., Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, 2023), while fragmented or paywalled essentials draw backlash, as seen in surveys highlighting frustration with incomplete bases.[14][15] Industry revenue from such models reached tens of billions annually by 2024, underscoring DLC's role in sustaining development amid rising costs, though debates persist on whether it enhances or exploits engagement.[13]Science and materials
Diamond-like carbon
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) encompasses a family of amorphous carbon thin films featuring a mixture of sp³ (diamond-like) and sp² (graphite-like) hybridized carbon bonds, which confer properties akin to crystalline diamond, including exceptional hardness, wear resistance, and chemical stability.[16] These films typically contain 15–82% sp³ bonds, with variations influencing their mechanical and tribological performance.[16] DLC differs from polycrystalline diamond by its non-crystalline structure, enabling deposition as conformal coatings on diverse substrates at relatively low temperatures.[16] The term DLC originated in 1971 from research by Aisenberg and Chabot, who produced amorphous hard carbon films inadvertently during vapor-phase experiments aimed at synthesizing diamond, building on high-pressure diamond synthesis advancements from the 1950s.[17] Subsequent developments in the late 1970s, including arc physical vapor deposition (PVD) in the Soviet Union, facilitated hydrogen-free DLC variants and spurred global adoption in Australia, Europe, and the United States.[17] DLC films are classified by sp³ fraction and hydrogen content, as follows:| Type | sp³ Content | Hydrogen Content (at%) |
|---|---|---|
| ta-C | >50% | <5 |
| ta-C:H | >50% | 5–50 |
| a-C | 10–50% | <5 |
| a-C:H | 10–50% | 5–50 |
| PLC | Low | 40–70 |