Downloadable content (DLC) has become an extra treat for gamers and can sometimes generate just as much buzz as the original game. Even better, a great DLC package can rescue a game's reputation from the brink of becoming obsolete. Bethesda has become a beacon of hope to many, with their DLC packs frequently being better than the base game they ship. All comments about product standards aside, it is no small feat to roll out DLC for an existing world on such a consistently solid basis.

Check out some of the best DLC packages of all time.

1. GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony

The Ballad of Gay Tony was one of two big DLCs released for GTA 4 and gamers widely cite it as one of the best DLCs of all time. With GTA 4, Rockstar looked to move into a more realistic world, but The Ballad of Gay Tony came along and gave fans a good dose of the good ‘ole days with its random and over-the-top storyline.

Additionally, Ballad for Gay Tony paints a vibrant picture of the world that engages gamers and keeps their enjoyment levels high. The DLC pack adds around twelve hours of game time for the primary and side quests and many players hail it as the best thing about GTA 4.

The Ballad of Gay Tony recalls the original intent behind GTA, which featured over-the-top gratuitous aggression. The DLC helped long-term fans of the series reconnect with the game in the ways they had in their youth.

2. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expands the world to a degree where the new content takes longer to play than the base game. Players still must repel an alien invasion. However, the War of the Chosen DLC changes the base game mission structure and introduces a host of new enemies, terrains, characters, modifiers, and character behaviors.

War of the Chosen was not the first DLC package released for XCOM2. However, it was the largest and best by quite some measure. In total, War of the Chosen introduced a host of new squad classes, three new factions, several new and enhanced mechanics, enemy units, and three bosses called the Chosen.

3. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

When it launched, Cyberpunk 2077 was met with widespread derision. However, tireless work from the team at CD Projekt Red saw the game turn everything around with a hefty 2.0 patch. From there, they shocked everybody with the Phantom Liberty DLC, built from scratch using the v.2.0 base.

Phantom Liberty launched as a solid, high-quality DLC package and earned its spot among the best DLCs in gaming history not because of the game's shaky start but because of the team's dedication to delivering on its original promises.

While The Phantom Liberty only adds one new area to the Cyberpunk world, it includes over twenty-two hours of gameplay, a whole new storyline with multiple endings, and even a new potential ending for the base game. Cyberpunk 2077: The Phantom Liberty caps a glorious comeback for a game that went from laughing stock to king of the hill.

4. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Monster Hunter World made the series a global household name. Despite being the latest entry in the popular long-running series, it had previously only found success in Japan. Then, the Iceborn DLC turned the game into a must-play experience for anybody who likes action RPG games. Iceborn is so good that anybody who has played it would really classify it as part of the base game as it plays an important role in the series.

Iceborne provides over 160 hours of additional content and, in many ways, offers more content than the base game. Alongside new gameplay content, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne also provided a new “Master Rank” quest ranking that supplemented the ranks from the base game. It also introduced a grappling hook, raider riding, and new locations that expanded the world's lore.

5. Animal Crossing New Horizons: 2.0 Happy Home Paradise

Animal Crossing stands out as Nintendo's classic chill-out game, and when New Horizons launched for the Switch, it delivered everything anybody could have wanted. When news of a DLC package broke, few expected what it would deliver. The Happy Homes Paradise introduced a new game that sits atop a perfect base.

Happy Home Paradise fits seamlessly into the New Horizons world as a new destination available through the airport. Players are given a job that they do as part of their everyday Animal Crossing experience. They can dip in and out and explore the charming new content as they do their regular business.

Happy Home Paradise does not introduce groundbreaking changes to the world of Animal Crossing and doesn't need to. It adds an existing and vibrant new world to experience and an extra way to relax and unwind after a long day. With around thirty hours of new content, the Happy Home Paradise DLC shows how Nintendo learned from previous attempts, such as Happy Home Designer, and built something that adds to their IP's legacy.

6. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea

Bioshock Infinite already had a great reputation before developers began creating DLC packages for it. The Burial at Sea DLC had a lot to live up to and absolutely did so. Split into two parts, Burial at Sea adds around seven hours of additional content. The two parts tell a tale that takes gamers back to the city of Rapture, the location for the first two Bioshock games.

Because Bioshock Infinite enjoyed so much acclaim, in the eyes of many, the first part of Burial at Sea felt a little tame. However, the second installment made up for it and created an expansion widely considered one of the best DLCs of all time.

The second installment introduced a slower-paced gameplay with more calls for stealth and patience, being a more character-driven section of the story. The Elizabeth story arc resonates most with fans and keeps the legacy of Bioshock Infinite and Burial at Sea on the active side of gamers' collections.

7. Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion

Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion forever altered the Splatoon world. Octolings, the long-standing antagonists in the series, become playable characters alongside the Inklings. The Octo Expansion seamlessly explains the transition as part of the DLC story, with mind control being blamed for the Octolings' actions.

The Octo Expansion introduced a new playable race, characters, weapons, and worlds, adding over twelve hours of content. While the Octo Expansion did not revolutionize the Splatoon games or introduce any game-changing mechanics, it brought new content that was familiar, refreshing, and exciting, keeping people playing the game through to the release of Splatoon 3 and beyond.

The Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion DLC proves that a good DLC package doesn't need to change the game to enhance it. A few minor tweaks are often enough to create something memorable.

8. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion – Shining Isles

When a DLC package remains part of an active conversation over fifteen years after its release, that says something.

The Shining Isles, released as a DLC for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, introduces an entirely new map, character suite, and story that provides gamers with over twenty hours of entertainment in a storyline that resembles an Alice in Wonderland-style plot. While acting as an expansion to Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, gamers often refer to The Shining Isles by its DLC name. The Shining Isles does enough to stand on its merit and earns recognition as transcending the traditional DLC.

The Shining Isles was the final expansion for Elder Scrolls 4 and has primarily been pushed into the annals of history by Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which offers enough content to keep many players from looking back to previous incarnations. However, those who do remember the good old days of Oblivion fondly replay the Shining Isles and revel in all of the majesty it provided.

If Elder Scrolls 4 stood ahead of others, then Shining Isles shoved it even further into the future and offered a gaming experience that still stands today.

9. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is the 2010 DLC pack for the titular Red Dead Redemption. Unlike many DLC packs which typically expand upon the core world and story, Undead Nightmare offers an alternative reality set within the same game world. A complete standalone title that sees users retain control over John Marston, the DLC package follows the ending of the base game in a non-canon world filled with zombies.

Undead Nightmare stands proud as one of the best DLCs ever released, shining even in the same DLC year as BioShock 2's Minerva's Den DLC (which we'll touch on shortly). Undead Nightmare hits that special note with fans of the Red Dead Redemption series by offering something completely different yet wholly relatable.

The game plays similarly with its new missions and quests, but the enemies behave differently and require a different approach to combat. The overall design aesthetic saw the whole world get a makeover to make it inherently spookier, showcasing Rockstar's commitment to building a DLC that works on its own merit rather than riding the base game's coattails.

10. Last of US: Left Behind

Last of Us: Left Behind demonstrates how downloadable content can embolden a story. While many DLCs focus on telling an epilogue of sorts or expanding on the story, Left Behind does the reverse. It looks back and tells the story of Ellie and what happened to her before the original game. While short, clocking in at around two or three hours, it helps flesh out Ellie as a character and cleverly flicks between the best friend she couldn't save and her exhaustive efforts to ensure she could save Joel.

Aside from Left Behind also giving gamers “the Kiss,” the content pack plays like a short story, strengthening the game it centers around but not relying on it to tell its own story. After its release, Left Behind won seven awards, including Best Gaming Moment and Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing from the Writers Guild of America Awards.

11. BioShock 2: Minerva's Den

BioShock 2 had odds stacked against it right from the start. The first BioShock set the bar so high that any sequel would struggle to make a mark. BioShock 2 is a good game, but the Minerva's Den DLC challenged the first game's quality and captured gamers' hearts.

What makes Minerva's Den such an astounding DLC package is what it achieves in a short burst of gameplay. Coming in at just over 4 hours long, the DLC tells a fantastic and engaging story, delivers tremendous gameplay that befits a BioShock title, and offers a fully rounded ending to the adventures in Rapture. BioShock 2: Minerva's Den gave fans everything they had hoped for in a BioShock sequel DLC and keeps BioShock 2 a popular game.

12. Witcher 3: Blood and Wine

The Witcher 3 has impacted pop culture through the first two decades of the 21st century. Two DLC packs were created and released for The Witcher 3, and it was hard to separate them from one another. However, Blood and Wine pips everything else because of what it adds to the game in terms of new land and options.

The Witcher: Blood and Wine provides around 28 hours of new content — still considerably less than the base game, but it is twice as much as the Heart of Stone DLC. Additionally, Blood and Wine introduces players to an entire new section of the Witcher world, along with an improved interface and advanced graphical design.

While Witcher 3 was already a fantastic game, the Blood and Wine DLC pack elevated it to the next level. Outside of MMOs, few games have shown the same understanding of how a DLC pack can extend a game's life.

13. Baldur’s Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal

The DLC package Throne of Bhaal polarized gamers, with people not holding back their thoughts on what it did for the series. Yet, this DLC for the classic Baldur's Gate 2 remains one of the best DLC packages ever. While it didn't add as much gameplay content as other DLCs, in essence, it did the impossible. Baldur's Gate 2 sets the bar very high for any follow-up content. The Throne of Bhaal rose to the challenge of expanding an already great game and did so with style and flair.

Throne of Bhaal raised the intensity and resulting difficulty, making it a game that presented a fresh challenge from multiple perspectives.

14. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Wrath of the Lich King, a DLC pack for the popular World of Warcraft series, ushered in MMORPG's most popular period. Interest in the DLC was high, and user levels and game time spiked upon its release, driving the World of Warcraft deep into popular culture. Few gamers have not heard of this game, even those who have not played it before will know the Lich King DLC.

The Wrath of the Lich King did far more than boost the popularity of an already popular game. It provided hundreds upon hundreds of hours of gameplay, clear resolutions of open storylines that started in previous DLCs, and a range of gameplay changes that showed the developers had listened to gamer feedback. Everything about Lich King felt like designers wanted to ensure gamers who came into the series through this DLC stayed around and didn't get distracted by the next big game.

While not without its flaws, the impact Wrath of the Lich King had on gaming culture as a whole makes it worthy of being considered one of the best DLC packages ever made.

15. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters

FromSoftware has a reputation for not taking it easy on its customers. Gamers regard Bloodborne as one of the most demanding games ever made, and for good reason. The Old Hunters DLC took that classic souls-like difficulty and cracked it up to eleven.

The Old Hunters offered a torturous experience for many gamers, making it such a fantastic DLC package. FromSoftware gave it their full attention and carefully crafted an expansion that not only delivered but surpassed gamer expectations, setting a new definition for difficulty.

Many brave gamers have given up and felt their souls scream in dismay when the Orphan of Kos repeatedly obliterated them. The Old Hunters offers around ten hours of high-difficulty gaming with five new bosses, each as vicious and brutal to kill as the previous. For Souls fans, The Old Hunters makes a fantastic addition that deserves its place among the greatest of all time. For those not fans of the games, the chance of them making it far enough to get the DLC is slim.

16. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe cemented itself into the hearts of gamers everywhere when it arrived on the Switch. The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Boost Pass DLC provided gamers with unprecedented content, doubling the number of courses available in the game. The DLC is technically split into six separate “waves.” However, they are all considered part of the one Booster Pass pack. Each phased wave contained two new trophies and eight courses, including new ones and re-imagined courses from previous Mario Kart games.

Mario Kart has a rabid fanbase, and the game's popularity has remained stable since it hit the Switch. When the Booster Pass announcement came, fans welcomed it with open arms. In essence, it delivered an entirely new game under the guise of a DLC, with new courses to memorize, new characters to perfect, and karts to create in the constant pursuit of that perfect lap.

17. Prey: Mooncrash

Prey, an FPS series, draws many parallels to the Dead Space series. To Prey's detriment, Dead Space often garners all of the praise for games of this type, and Prey, released in 2017, fell under the radar. The Mooncrash DLC came in 2018 and passed many people by, yet it is a phenomenal DLC pack.

Not only did Mooncrash build on the same gameplay as the base game, but it offered around seventeen hours of gameplay for just the main and side quests, around two-thirds of the time given to the base game. The key to Mooncrash's success is that it is a separate game mode launched over the same base setting. Unlike Prey, Mooncrash plays as a roguelike game with set levels but randomized enemies and items.

Mooncrash deserves recognition as one of the best DLC packs ever because of the expanded content it offers. While it didn't enjoy the same critical reception as others on this list, it stands as a pillar of what DLC content should strive to be: expansive, enjoyable, and adding to the product's overall value.

18. Destiny: The Taken King

Destiny: The Taken King offered almost 30 hours of playtime for the main missions and side quests. This staggering amount quickly ran into three figures for those looking to complete everything the DLC offered. The Taken King created a link to the events of the first DLC and maintained a strong continuity across the games and DLCs.

Not only did The Taken King introduce a significant new story and extra hours of gameplay in a familiar world, but it also included three new subclasses complete with super abilities, over seventeen new exotic weapons and improvements to ten other existing weapons, twenty new armor pieces and improvements to eighteen additional armor units.

On top of that, The Taken King also rewrote the way Destiny dealt with leveling, moving away from a system that based levels on acquiring armor to an experience point-driven system.

19. Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep

Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep is somewhat unique in the world of DLC. Developers only released it as extra content for Borderlands 2, yet it inspired its own sequel, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, released as its own full game in 2021. When an add-on is so good that the developers can release the same content as a standalone title, you know it's worth the investment.

Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep arrived in 2013 and successfully combined two previously distant genres. Set inside a Dungeon's & Dragon-inspired tabletop game, Tina acts as the “bunker master,” guiding players through a third-person shooter title. Assault on Dragon Keep testifies to what developers can achieve when a team commits to trying something new. Completing Assault on Dragon Keep as a DLC item takes around eight and a half hours and longer for those who want to experience everything.

Gamers award unanimous praise to Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep for its incredible story, which keeps them engaged while playing and shows the developers' commitment to building something more than just extra filler content.

20. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches

Many gamers will agree that this final DLC package for Dishonored played just as good as, if not better than, the base game and was the best of its three DLCs.

The Brigmore Witches exemplifies the power of a DLC package, introducing a compelling new story that serves a double purpose, forming a bridge between two main titles. The Brigmore Witches ties to the great work done by its earlier partner DLC, the Knife of Dunwall, which turned former target Duad into the protagonist.

What works so well with The Brigmore Witches is how it expands on the world's lore, turning Daud into a fully formed three-dimensional character. Also, playing the DLC introduces players to several characters that play significant roles in Dishonored 2.

In many ways, Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches pulls double duty and works to the benefit of both the game it is the extra content for and its sequel, Dishonored 2. The Brigmore Witches adds around five hours of playtime to the original title. That jumps to ten, including the lead-up DLC that players need to play first. Combined, this is more than half the time of the original game, which means gamers get great value for their money while they wait to move on to the second game in the series.

21. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course

Gamers cite Cuphead as one of the most challenging games ever made. That owes to the nonstop action on screen and the barrage of sprites that will quickly deplete health and send souls scurrying heavenward.

The Delicious Last Course was announced in 2018, and after some delays, a global pandemic, and a few more delays, it finally launched in June 2022 to much fanfare and aplomb. The Delicious Last Course hit the same high notes as the base game but introduced some new mechanics and cranked up the difficulty even higher without sacrificing any of the original charm or quality.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course takes approximately five hours to complete the main and sub-levels, making it an excellent addition to the base game, which clocks in at around 16 hours to complete to the same degree.