If you’re a fan of Battlefield 3, chances are you’re extremely excited about the Back to Karkand DLC coming out this week. While many were expecting a sprinkling of downloadable content, the pack is beginning to look a lot more like an expansion, and that’s precisely what DICE is aiming for.
Community Manager Ian Tornay spoke about the future of Battlefield 3 during a podcast with PS Blog. While talking about the upcoming Back to Karkand expansion, he emphasized that DICE plans to support Battlefield 3 and increase its longevity with expansions, not map packs. He reiterated that his team has supported releases in the past with tasteful expansions, such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam, which not only added content to the original game but really set itself apart by offering a completely different stylized experience for far less than the full price of a retail game.
Many FPS gamers have become accustomed to small DLC packs, especially with the Call of Duty series, which regularly releases $15 downloadable content which comes with just a few maps, and nothing else. Back to Karkand will include 10 new weapons, four enormous maps, vehicles, and even some new trophies to earn. Arriving just about two months after the initial game’s release, it definitely won’t be the last package to arrive for the multi-million selling Battlefield 3, and I think I speak for many when I say that it’ll be exciting to see what comes after Karkand.