-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Should more DLC be free moving forward?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dot Esports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg?resize=768,432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Highton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Highton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andrew Highton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b\"},\"headline\":\"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\"},\"wordCount\":970,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"God of War\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\",\"name\":\"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"Should more DLC be free moving forward?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Screenshot by Dot Esports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Dot Esports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b\",\"name\":\"Andrew Highton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f559bd3b0373082084a4886460acb7fb\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Highton\"},\"description\":\"Andy is a Game Guides Writer at Dot Esports with a host of experience working at Dexerto, Twinfinite, Keengamer, and more. He's about as passionate a gamer as you're likely to find and spreads that love across a ton of different titles, but will also talk everything football, golf, and wrestling! Be sure to follow his thoughts and ramblings over at @AndyHighton8 on Twitter.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/andrewhighton\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","description":"Should more DLC be free moving forward?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","og_description":"Should more DLC be free moving forward?","og_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","og_site_name":"Dot Esports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","article_published_time":"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg?resize=768,432","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrew Highton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DotEsports","twitter_site":"@DotEsports","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Highton","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs"},"author":{"name":"Andrew Highton","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b"},"headline":"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","datePublished":"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs"},"wordCount":970,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","articleSection":["God of War"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","name":"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00","description":"Should more DLC be free moving forward?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Screenshot by Dot Esports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b","name":"Andrew Highton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f559bd3b0373082084a4886460acb7fb","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"Andrew Highton"},"description":"Andy is a Game Guides Writer at Dot Esports with a host of experience working at Dexerto, Twinfinite, Keengamer, and more. He's about as passionate a gamer as you're likely to find and spreads that love across a ton of different titles, but will also talk everything football, golf, and wrestling! Be sure to follow his thoughts and ramblings over at @AndyHighton8 on Twitter.","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/andrewhighton"}]}},"raw_content":"After playing through God of War Ragnarok\u2019s free Valhalla DLC, I was left with one thought that got even more perplexing, confusing, and downright baffling until I eventually finished the title, causing me to ruffle my hair and ask: How on Earth is this free? The Game Awards 2023 provided a litany of surprises and announcements, but possibly the one that resonated the most was the jaw-dropping bombshell of the free God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC. The new content shows 2022\u2019s GOTY contender still has life left in the tank, and Kratos\u2019 killing is not done. So how is it? Let me tell you: Valhalla could have been a standalone release\u2014it\u2019s that perfect. Still, I cannot, and will not, get past one detail about the action title: it\u2019s free.\u00a0 The thought of free DLC in 2023 is a shock to the system and got me thinking that Santa Monica shouldn\u2019t be alone in this decision, nor should this mentality be so surprising. Valhalla is a whole new game for free As the credits rolled for Valhalla, I was incredulous: both with the jaw-dropping Valhalla ending and because, some slightly repurposed gameplay aside, Ragnarok\u2019s Valhalla DLC reshapes the franchise I know and love and molds it into something new\u2014for free. In a bizarre twist, Valhalla is a roguelike, meaning that Kratos is expected to partake in multiple loops of Valhalla, with every playthrough completely randomized: the layout, areas, enemies, rewards\u2014every experience is unique. Roguelikes are nothing new, and the Hades influence is wholly evident here. But Santa Monica could\u2019ve merely made a tacked-on, generic roguelike mode and served it up as new content. Instead, Ragnarok players are treated to a true epilogue featuring a wealth of new dialog and cut scenes, fresh narrative twists, shocking reveals, and the kind of fan service that gets Reddit and YouTube hotter than a bath in Muspelheim. If you only care about gameplay, say hello to epic new boss fights, on-the-go strategizing concerning your combat approach, returning enemies, and even a new weapon I can scarcely believe was added. There\u2019s so much longevity here, too. I easily got between eight to 12 hours of it with some players sure to get more. Santa Monica could have charged $5, $20, or maybe even $40, and no one would\u2019ve even batted a hanging-off Troll eyelid. But it didn\u2019t, which begs the question: \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t any other developer do this?\u201d Remember when paying for a game meant you got all of it, not some? Not to sound like a boomer here\u2014I\u2019m only 30, leave me alone\u2014but I still remember the pre-PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era when the notion of DLC was practically non-existent. It was as mythical as a Kratos-owned ice cream shop called Kratos\u2019 Kreamy Treats. You bought a game (actually, my parents bought me a game), and you received all the scheduled and planned content from the get-go. You\u2019d check the bonus menus to see costumes and secrets you could unlock and how to do it. Nowadays, you need to check if you have enough money in your account. I\u2019ll happily accept the point that internet connectivity allows games to be patched and updated to fix faults. However, it\u2019s led to eye-rolling, money-hungry tactics like microtransactions and paid DLC to feed the corporate greed monster\u2014which could make a good God of War boss. If your game isn\u2019t finished or you have plans for additional content, you should delay the game. Delays shouldn\u2019t just be for more time to make sure it \u201cmeets our high expectations\u201d or whatever generic spiel is CTRL + V\u2019d in every corporate apology statement. The vision is too big for the project? No worries, just bottle any remaining ideas and implement them into the next game that people will then happily pay full price for on day one because they know they won\u2019t be short-changed due to post-launch, premium add-ons. Or, and here\u2019s a revolutionary thought, you don\u2019t make people essentially pay for the same game twice and make bonus content free \u00e0 la Valhalla. That\u2019s fun to say out loud. Make more DLC free and stop announcing season passes before games are out Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is not the only example of announcing a season pass well ahead of its release, but it's recent and juxtaposes the stance of Santa Monica with God of War Ragnarok Valhalla perfectly. On one hand, you have lengthy, substantial, free DLC for a game considered one of the best of its generation, and on the other, you have Avatar, an unproven entity already telling potential consumers that they will have to fork out a lot more cash if they want to experience all that the title has to offer. Do you see the problem? Whether Santa Monica had this epilogue DLC in the pipeline is anyone\u2019s guess. It doesn\u2019t matter, though, because it\u2019s free. On the other hand, Ubisoft has indirectly told you it\u2019s deliberately holding content back and will be charging you extra for it. These ideologies are intrinsically night and day and detrimental to the trust between consumers and developers. It\u2019s a practice that has been in operation for over a decade now, and I\u2019m tired of it. The majority of developers out there need to take a long look in the mirror and observe and follow the fabulous example set by Santa Monica. I\u2019m the beneficiary of unbelievable generosity by a reputable company. Sadly, I know I shouldn\u2019t get used to it.","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1074653"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1074676,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074653\/revisions\/1074676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1074660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1074653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1074653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Should more DLC be free moving forward?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dot Esports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg?resize=768,432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Highton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Highton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andrew Highton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b\"},\"headline\":\"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\"},\"wordCount\":970,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"God of War\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\",\"name\":\"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"Should more DLC be free moving forward?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Screenshot by Dot Esports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Dot Esports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b\",\"name\":\"Andrew Highton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f559bd3b0373082084a4886460acb7fb\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Highton\"},\"description\":\"Andy is a Game Guides Writer at Dot Esports with a host of experience working at Dexerto, Twinfinite, Keengamer, and more. He's about as passionate a gamer as you're likely to find and spreads that love across a ton of different titles, but will also talk everything football, golf, and wrestling! Be sure to follow his thoughts and ramblings over at @AndyHighton8 on Twitter.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/andrewhighton\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","description":"Should more DLC be free moving forward?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","og_description":"Should more DLC be free moving forward?","og_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","og_site_name":"Dot Esports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","article_published_time":"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg?resize=768,432","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrew Highton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DotEsports","twitter_site":"@DotEsports","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Highton","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs"},"author":{"name":"Andrew Highton","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b"},"headline":"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","datePublished":"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs"},"wordCount":970,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","articleSection":["God of War"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","name":"God of War Ragnarok's free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-20T10:12:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-20T10:12:51+00:00","description":"Should more DLC be free moving forward?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Screenshot by Dot Esports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3c781da4aed0cd53b2b4569575b0684b","name":"Andrew Highton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f559bd3b0373082084a4886460acb7fb","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6702e3aef66d3e6bf1fa9a5ddf3338e?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"Andrew Highton"},"description":"Andy is a Game Guides Writer at Dot Esports with a host of experience working at Dexerto, Twinfinite, Keengamer, and more. He's about as passionate a gamer as you're likely to find and spreads that love across a ton of different titles, but will also talk everything football, golf, and wrestling! Be sure to follow his thoughts and ramblings over at @AndyHighton8 on Twitter.","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/andrewhighton"}]}},"raw_content":"After playing through God of War Ragnarok\u2019s free Valhalla DLC, I was left with one thought that got even more perplexing, confusing, and downright baffling until I eventually finished the title, causing me to ruffle my hair and ask: How on Earth is this free? The Game Awards 2023 provided a litany of surprises and announcements, but possibly the one that resonated the most was the jaw-dropping bombshell of the free God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC. The new content shows 2022\u2019s GOTY contender still has life left in the tank, and Kratos\u2019 killing is not done. So how is it? Let me tell you: Valhalla could have been a standalone release\u2014it\u2019s that perfect. Still, I cannot, and will not, get past one detail about the action title: it\u2019s free.\u00a0 The thought of free DLC in 2023 is a shock to the system and got me thinking that Santa Monica shouldn\u2019t be alone in this decision, nor should this mentality be so surprising. Valhalla is a whole new game for free As the credits rolled for Valhalla, I was incredulous: both with the jaw-dropping Valhalla ending and because, some slightly repurposed gameplay aside, Ragnarok\u2019s Valhalla DLC reshapes the franchise I know and love and molds it into something new\u2014for free. In a bizarre twist, Valhalla is a roguelike, meaning that Kratos is expected to partake in multiple loops of Valhalla, with every playthrough completely randomized: the layout, areas, enemies, rewards\u2014every experience is unique. Roguelikes are nothing new, and the Hades influence is wholly evident here. But Santa Monica could\u2019ve merely made a tacked-on, generic roguelike mode and served it up as new content. Instead, Ragnarok players are treated to a true epilogue featuring a wealth of new dialog and cut scenes, fresh narrative twists, shocking reveals, and the kind of fan service that gets Reddit and YouTube hotter than a bath in Muspelheim. If you only care about gameplay, say hello to epic new boss fights, on-the-go strategizing concerning your combat approach, returning enemies, and even a new weapon I can scarcely believe was added. There\u2019s so much longevity here, too. I easily got between eight to 12 hours of it with some players sure to get more. Santa Monica could have charged $5, $20, or maybe even $40, and no one would\u2019ve even batted a hanging-off Troll eyelid. But it didn\u2019t, which begs the question: \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t any other developer do this?\u201d Remember when paying for a game meant you got all of it, not some? Not to sound like a boomer here\u2014I\u2019m only 30, leave me alone\u2014but I still remember the pre-PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era when the notion of DLC was practically non-existent. It was as mythical as a Kratos-owned ice cream shop called Kratos\u2019 Kreamy Treats. You bought a game (actually, my parents bought me a game), and you received all the scheduled and planned content from the get-go. You\u2019d check the bonus menus to see costumes and secrets you could unlock and how to do it. Nowadays, you need to check if you have enough money in your account. I\u2019ll happily accept the point that internet connectivity allows games to be patched and updated to fix faults. However, it\u2019s led to eye-rolling, money-hungry tactics like microtransactions and paid DLC to feed the corporate greed monster\u2014which could make a good God of War boss. If your game isn\u2019t finished or you have plans for additional content, you should delay the game. Delays shouldn\u2019t just be for more time to make sure it \u201cmeets our high expectations\u201d or whatever generic spiel is CTRL + V\u2019d in every corporate apology statement. The vision is too big for the project? No worries, just bottle any remaining ideas and implement them into the next game that people will then happily pay full price for on day one because they know they won\u2019t be short-changed due to post-launch, premium add-ons. Or, and here\u2019s a revolutionary thought, you don\u2019t make people essentially pay for the same game twice and make bonus content free \u00e0 la Valhalla. That\u2019s fun to say out loud. Make more DLC free and stop announcing season passes before games are out Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is not the only example of announcing a season pass well ahead of its release, but it's recent and juxtaposes the stance of Santa Monica with God of War Ragnarok Valhalla perfectly. On one hand, you have lengthy, substantial, free DLC for a game considered one of the best of its generation, and on the other, you have Avatar, an unproven entity already telling potential consumers that they will have to fork out a lot more cash if they want to experience all that the title has to offer. Do you see the problem? Whether Santa Monica had this epilogue DLC in the pipeline is anyone\u2019s guess. It doesn\u2019t matter, though, because it\u2019s free. On the other hand, Ubisoft has indirectly told you it\u2019s deliberately holding content back and will be charging you extra for it. These ideologies are intrinsically night and day and detrimental to the trust between consumers and developers. It\u2019s a practice that has been in operation for over a decade now, and I\u2019m tired of it. The majority of developers out there need to take a long look in the mirror and observe and follow the fabulous example set by Santa Monica. I\u2019m the beneficiary of unbelievable generosity by a reputable company. Sadly, I know I shouldn\u2019t get used to it.","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/god-of-war-ragnarok-valhalla-dlc-free-opinion-e1703065236698.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1074653"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1074676,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074653\/revisions\/1074676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1074660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1074653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=1074653"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1074653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Rokurou

{"id":1074653,"date":"2023-12-20T05:12:48","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T10:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?p=1074653"},"modified":"2023-12-20T05:12:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T10:12:51","slug":"god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/gow\/news\/god-of-war-ragnaroks-free-valhalla-dlc-should-be-a-lesson-to-other-devs","title":{"rendered":"God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC should be a lesson to other devs"},"content":{"rendered":"

After playing through God of War Ragnarok<\/em>\u2019s free Valhalla <\/em>DLC, I was left with one thought that got even more perplexing, confusing, and downright baffling until I eventually finished the title, causing me to ruffle my hair and ask: How on Earth is this free?<\/p>

The Game Awards 2023<\/a> provided a litany of surprises and announcements, but possibly the one that resonated the most was the jaw-dropping bombshell of the free God of War Ragnarok Valhalla<\/em> DLC<\/a>.<\/p>

The new content shows 2022\u2019s GOTY contender still has life left in the tank, and Kratos\u2019 killing is not done. So how is it? Let me tell you: Valhalla<\/em> could have been a standalone release\u2014it\u2019s that perfect. Still, I cannot, and will not, get past one detail about the action title: it\u2019s free.\u00a0<\/p>

The thought of free DLC in 2023 is a shock to the system and got me thinking that Santa Monica shouldn\u2019t be alone in this decision, nor should this mentality be so surprising.<\/p>