I was reading the thread regarding the Reign of Blood DLC announcement and I saw
this particular conversation. It eventually led me to
this particular topic from eight months ago.
(
https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/co...ailer/ern2ncq/
https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/co...d_age_ratings/ )
For the record, I inquired about this matter way back. I emailed the ESRB and PEGI back in October 2018 to ask regarding the age rating of DLC. I wasn't able to receive a reply from the ESRB, but a representative from PEGI (Dirk Bosmans) did respond:
Thanks for sending us your question. I checked our database and among the long list of Total War titles, I can very easily recognise the Blood DLC titles that you are referring to. SEGA has been correctly submitting them to us for a separate classification, because the expected age rating was different from the base game’s rating.
Now, when you say “if those Blood DLCs are part of the base game itself”, I presume you mean that they are sold in a bundle with the base game (because the DLC was not yet available when the base game originally launched)? When publisher compile titles in a new product, they are required to display the age label of the highest-rated product on the box, which would be PEGI 18 in the case of a bundle that contained Blood DLC.
Okay, so, basically, if we end up having "Complete Editions" of Total War games, ones which would include the Blood DLC, they'd have to be labeled as M-rated games due to PEGI's rules.
Also, each Blood DLC has to be submitted separately for a separate classification since it would be treated differently due to the graphic/mature content it has compared to the base game.
This was a follow-up reply:
The retail price does not have an impact on the rating (it should remain possible to offer a PEGI 3 game for free). But I can see how freely available DLC can be perceived as “more accessible”, because having to pay for content may act as a different type of barrier. In the end, the PEGI rating is still there to inform about the suitability of the content, with the option to block it through parental controls.
Our rules prevent publishers from offering such DLC as an automatic patch, and the DLC cannot be advertised in the base game. So even if it’s free, a player will still have to go through the normal purchase process, except no money is charged.
So, yes, it is possible to have a "free" Blood DLC. However, it cannot be advertised in the base game, and it cannot be part of an automatic patch. It has to be separate from the base game. The PEGI rep did state that it's understandable that "free" mature-rated content can be seen as "more accessible," as opposed to something where a payment can act as a barrier for younger players.
As far as I know, the official stance from CA regarding this
comes from Grace's comment a month ago:
Blood packs raise the age rating - that's why they are DLC.
They cost money because it costs us to make them.
The first sentence alone reflects PEGI's classification rules. Due to the graphic/mature content from Blood packs, they will, definitely, raise the age rating of the base game (if included as part of regular content).
Grace did clarify in a comment below that since some players were conflating two entirely different things: "the age rating" versus "why it costs money/why it requires a payment."
I literally said it costs money because it costs us to make them. I never said they cost money because of the age rating.
They are DLC because of the age rating.
They cost money because they cost us to make.
Summary:
- Based on PEGI's classification and rules, Sega has been submitting Blood DLC separately (correctly, btw) because these have a more mature rating compared to the base game.
- Compiling the Blood DLC with the base game/as part of a future bundle will raise its age rating since the collection is expected to have the highest age rating for any included content.
- That's why mature-rated content, even if it's free, cannot be included as part of the base game as a free patch or advertised as part of the base game.
- It's possible for the Blood DLC to be "Free-LC," but, as has been noted, it costs money since it also costs the company money to make these.