A List Of Some Major Game Expansions Due In 2016

Congratulations you got to the end but now what? Expansions of course! We live in the age of digital content and a season pass pandemic, so naturally there's always a little more to the journey. What are some of the add-ons due this year?

It's hard to keep track of all those games and studios working away on additional chunks for us to be riddled with guilt into buying. 2016 is no different and has some interesting additions for some of the biggest titles to-date. Let's see what's on the menu this year:

Fallout 4

Bethesda

Let's start with a big boy of a blockbuster and yes there's definitely new stuff getting cooked up over at Bethesda Softworks. They recently revealed what's coming and its a mix of new areas, new stories and even expanding on our settlement options. A blog on the official Bethesda website spilled the season pass and DLC plans.

Automatron (March 2016)

"The mysterious Mechanist has unleashed a horde of evil robots into the Commonwealth, including the devious Robobrain. Hunt them down and harvest their parts to build and mod your own custom robot companions. Choose from hundreds of mods; mixing limbs, armor, abilities, and weapons like the all-new lightning chain gun. Even customize their paint schemes and choose their voices!" Wasteland Workshop (April 2016)

"With the Wasteland Workshop, design and set cages to capture live creatures – from raiders to Deathclaws! Tame them or have them face off in battle, even against your fellow settlers. The Wasteland Workshop also includes a suite of new design options for your settlements like nixie tube lighting, letter kits, taxidermy and more!" Far Harbor (May 2016)

"A new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths. Travel off the coast of Maine to the mysterious island of Far Harbor, where higher levels of radiation have created a more feral world. Navigate through the growing conflict between the synths, the Children of Atom, and the local townspeople. Will you work towards bringing peace to Far Harbor, and at what cost? Far Harbor features the largest landmass for an add-on that we’ve ever created, filled with new faction quests, settlements, lethal creatures and dungeons. Become more powerful with new, higher-level armor and weapons. The choices are all yours."

Bethesda tease there's even more actually on the way but they're not going to be revealing exactly what at this time. "We have plans for more. More than $60 worth of new Fallout adventures and features throughout 2016," they said. Incidentally they'll be increasing the price of the Fallout 4 season pass from $29.99 to $49.99 to 'reflect the expanded plans'. Closed betas for the DLC are also scheduled.

Destiny

Bungie

The new big muscle in Activision's franchise arsenal is Bungie's first-person sci-fi shooter RPG Destiny. Sadly it's yet to grace PC but camps Xbox and PlayStation have been gunning hard and fast. Greats news then for this MMO because a "large new expansion" is due for this year. An investor note also declares 2017 as the year Bungie will release the sequel: Destiny 2.

Untitled Expansion/Update (TBA 2016)

"...far larger than anything you’ve seen since the release of The Taken King. There’s also another significant update to the world and sandbox planned in this same window."

More content is planned although the size is unknown and considering the sequel will hit in 2017 it may not be on the scale as this new 'large expansion'. Live events are another matter as they recently held one for Valentine Day called 'Crimson Days'.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

CD Projekt RED

Heard a little something about this one have you? The dark fantasy RPG that's not afraid to drown you in drowners, saucy antics and a troll-load of quests, and it's getting even bigger as the expansion pass continues to deliver its mandate. This is the second half of the announced content as part of the pass and will be the biggest yet adding new enemies, locations, skills and other gameplay tweaks.

Blood and Wine (June 2016)

"...a 20-hour tale that will introduce the all-new in-game region of Toussaint, will take Geralt to a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret."

Will CD Projekt RED stop after Blood and Wine? It's unclear but it should be noted that before the major expansions starting getting serious work done on them the studio released 16 pieces of free DLC which includes new armour, weapons, quests, NPC appearances, hair and beard styles and the always welcome New Game +.

Just Cause 3

Avalanche Studios

Toppling dictators is busy work and the Air, Land & Sea Expansion pass is set to cover just that: air, land and sea. The first major slice is already on the way and will be taking to the skies. The open world destructive sandbox can get away with doing some rather over-the-top stuff on par with a Bond villain and the Sky Fortress is almost here to set the tone for future content.

Sky Fortress (March 2016)

"...a brand new set of missions that introduce a new threat – a huge and terrifying Sky Fortress and an army of deadly robotic drones. To tackle his deadly new adversary, Rico Rodriguez will use a new upgradeable, rocket-powered, weaponised ‘Bavarium Wingsuit’ fitted with shoulder mounted machine guns and auto targeting missiles - alongside his new ‘Eviction’ personal defence drone and ‘Bavarium Splitter’ assault rifle." Land Mech Assault (TBA 2016)

"...another new series of missions that introduce a unique new vehicle that can be carried over into the main game; a heavily armoured mech armed with a gravity gun that allows objects to be picked up and powerfully thrown in any direction. Although the mech is as strong as a tank, it is highly manoeuvrable and agile and behaves unlike anything else in the game." Untitled Sea-based Expansion (TBA 2016)

A third expansion will be sea related but hasn't been officially named yet but it's likely going to be something crazy. New weapons and gadgets are always welcome to Rico's personal arsenal to take on an island's entire army. It's probably just a matter of time before modders get their multiplayer mitts on the new Just Cause 3 and really amp up the crazy.

Anno 2205

Ubisoft

The series of Anno used to be dedicated to the age of sail with merchant ships at the mercy of pirates between your little colony of islands, but then it went modern. Now it's blasting off into space with Lunar colonies instead and exploiting the freezing tundra to feed the ever-growing corporate headquarters back in the temperate regions. Even city builders can't escape the season pass fever.

Tundra (February 29th, 2016)

"Enjoy the new environment: roam the marshes, cross the fjords and observe the muskoxen. Establish exclusive Tundra production chains to supply production everywhere on Earth." Orbit (TBA 2016)

"Expand your corporation’s dominion into space itself. Take over the new orbital sector and build your very own space station there."

Where does the team go from here? The previous Anno 2070 went under the water so can we look forward to another trip under the sea? If we can conquer the moon then surely the crushing depths of Earth are just as lofty a goal... Anything to satisfy the diva demands of our over-paid executives in their glass towers is a-okay.

Star Wars Battlefront

EA DICE

Electronic Arts is planning on releasing DLC through a season pass. Surprise! Given the history of the Battlefield series it really doesn't shock to learn there are big plans for post-launch content coming to Battlefront. Many fans are gasping for more locations and thankfully some are on the way including some old favourites. EA has pledged both free and paid DLC is on the agenda.

Outer Rim (March 2016)

"Fight among the factories of Sullust and battle within Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine." Bespin (Summer 2016)

"It’s hunt or be hunted in this action-packed experience set in the Cloud City of Bespin." Death Star (Fall 2016)

"That’s no moon! One of the most iconic locations in the Star Warsuniverse makes its debut in Star Wars Battlefront." Untitled Expansion (Early 2017)

"We will have more details to share about this exciting new expansion pack in the coming months."

It's not just new locations but more Heroes and Villains are very likely to be showing up with rumours roaring for Chewbacca and of course Lando Calrissian, especially as we'll be going to his place of residence with the Bespin expansion. Atop the wishlist for fans remains space battles which were a cornerstone of the original two Battlefronts from Pandemic Studios.