Every year starts the same. There are a few games for everyone to look forward to, but more rear their heads later in the year until a slew of massive, exciting games comes out in the third and fourth quarters. But we always forget about incredible upcoming DLC and expansions.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the hype for the next big game. It feels like there’s nothing else to talk about on social media other than the next AAA title about to hit our PCs and consoles. However, this can lead to a cycle where we pick up every new game we can afford and never take the time to appreciate or finish the last one we played. Even if we do, the constant influx of news about the next biggest game often overshadows the upcoming DLC and expansions for games we loved in the past.
Related: Best Video Game Hidden Gems of 2023
The 10 Best Upcoming DLC & Expansions for 2024 That We Know About
Below, we’ve listed the ten best upcoming DLCs and expansions that we know about for 2024. These DLC and expansions have all been confirmed for 2024 or delayed from previous years into 2024. While the release date for each DLC and expansion could change based on the developer’s workload, they should all be with us by the end of the year.
Each upcoming DLC and expansion is listed in no particular order. We believe that every one of these is well worth investing time and money into because we enjoyed the base games so much. Of course, if there’s one DLC that will be a clear winner for the year, it’s Elden Ring’s at the time of writing.
1) Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdree is easily the most highly anticipated upcoming DLC of 2024. The base game is FromSoftware’s most ambitious project to date, and the DLC is allegedly set to add as much content across a brand-new map as there is in Bloodborne. While the release window for this DLC is Q1 2024, we wouldn’t be surprised if it slipped a little.
The beauty of Elden Ring is that it presents players with a colossal open world and allows them to progress in any direction they want. While there is a set path they can follow, it’s possible to do almost anything, as is the case with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We’re excited to see what this upcoming DLC can do to elevate the base Elden Ring experience with new twists on that formula.
2) Alan Wake 2 Night Springs & The Lake House
Alan Wake 2 was hailed as a masterpiece when it was released in 2023, and developer Remedy wasted no time capitalizing on that popularity by announcing two upcoming DLCs for the title. The first, Night Springs, is slated for a late Spring 2024 release date. It will star several familiar characters and allow players to experience on-off episodes of the Night Springs TV show as them.
The second DLC, The Lake House, looks at a secret research facility on Cauldron Lake where things have gone badly wrong. It feels to us as though this will be the most story-driven of the two expansions. While there’s no release date for The Lake House at the time of writing, it’s known that it’ll be released after Night Springs. Our money is on a Q4 2024 release.
3) Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
Dawntrail has been pitched as the ultimate summer vacation for a hero in Final Fantasy 14. It marks the beginning of a new story arc for the game and throws players at the New World, Tural. There, players will help complete the land’s Rite of Succession and determine the next ruler for its people.
While a new story is great, most players are excited for the extended endgame content and balance changes Dawntrail will bring when it’s released in Summer 2024. This is Final Fantasy 14’s next major update, and expectations are high for what it can do for long-time fans and newcomers alike.
4) World of Warcraft: The War Within/Season of Discovery
It’s an exciting time to be a World of Warcraft player. 2024 will see new phases launch for WoW Classic: Season of Discovery, which proved to be popular with long-time players towards the end of 2023. These phases will see the addition of more classic content for players to work through as they may or may not have when it was first released.
However, the biggest upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft in 2024 is The War Within. In this new story, players will delve beneath Azeroth into its subterranean caverns, where the Harbinger of the Void is amassing an arachnid army to bring every force on the surface to its knees. Based on past expansion launches, it’s thought The War Within will be released between August and October 2024, but there’s no confirmed date at the time of writing.
5) Eastward: Octopia
While not a AAA blockbuster, Eastward has grown from cult classic indie to an artistic game everyone recommends as part of their hidden gems collection. Especially on Nintendo Switch. Eastward: Octopia launches on January 31, 2024, and promises to take players to a new region where they can get to know a community and help develop relationships with their neighbors in a cozy new adventure.
We missed out on Eastward the first time around, but Eastward: Octopia can be played without progressing the base game’s story at all. It’s the perfect upcoming DLC for us and others who missed out on playing every game that launched in 2023. We love it all the more for the farming elements it brings to the table.
6) Destiny 2: The Final Shape
The Final Shape expansion for Destiny 2 is a bittersweet one. It marks the end of the game’s decade-long story saga and the shift from it being Bungie’s main focus to a game with automated story content. Fans are split on what comes after, but most agree that they’re excited to play the expansion when it finally launches on June 4, 2024.
The expansion will finally see players follow The Witness, the main antagonist for Destiny 2’s entire story, into The Traveler. Once there, they’ll have to somehow beat a foe who is shaping the world around them to fit their own design as players attempt to do the same and gain an advantage over the toughest enemies they’ve ever faced.
7) Dredge: The Iron Rig
Dredge is an amazing fishing game with cosmic horror elements carefully woven into the world and story. The first major expansion for the title, The Iron Rig, was delayed in late 2023 into 2024. While The Pale Reach has kept players busy in the meantime, this upcoming expansion for Dredge is the one the fan base is most excited about.
No one knows exactly what The Iron Rig will add to Dredge, but based on past updates and DLC, it should bring a new biome to explore, as well as a new story to uncover. Oil rigs and lighthouses have long been part of cosmic horror tales told at sea, so we’d expect to see a rig plagued by a colossal sea beast if nothing else.
8) The Riftbreaker: World Expansion III
The Riftbreaker is a base-building game at heart with action RPG and open-world survival crafting elements. It’s a real mixed bag, but it’s adopted a fiercely committed fan base who adore its unique gameplay blend, exploring new biomes and advancing their research as they defend against every threat thrown at them.
World Expansion III is the third major world and story upcoming expansion for The Rifbreaker, set to launch at some point in 2024. It’ll add a new biome for players to explore, as well as a continuation of the main story. Players will find a new threat as they tentatively tread through the new biome and must find a way to defend themselves from it like they’ve never had to before.
9) Splatoon 3: Side Order
Splatoon 3 feels too old to be getting DLC in 2024, but Nintendo has its upcoming single-player DLC slated for a Spring 2024 release date. The expansion is part of the second wave of DLC for the game, adding a new campaign for players to work through in a world completely devoid of color. A stark contrast from everything else we’ve seen in this series.
The story follows a familiar Agent as they’re transported to the Order Sector. It’s a realm constructed of its own rules and looks at what might have happened if Team Order had beaten Team Chaos.
10) Atomic Heart: Trapped in Limbo
Launching on February 6, 2024, the Trapped in Limbo DLC for Atomic Heart takes the game’s zany hallucinations and finally offers them to players in a small open world packed with challenges to complete.
Based on the trailer, it looks like a new set of enemies has been added alongside some reworked ones with a Limbo twist. Players will use new weapons to beat the snot out of these insane creations while competing in Sonic-esque races and challenges that move the focus from combat to movement in this gut-wrenching first-person shooter.
Published: Jan 3, 2024 11:57 am