5 Expansions That Completely Reinvented Their Games

Some games have expansions that already improve great experiences, but some titles use the opportunity of huge DLC to vastly improve their foundation. Many of the best expansions broaden gameplay or introduce fresh content that turns an average title into something far better than what players originally tried. From huge additions to open worlds to greater challenges to tackle with you and your friends, expansions that reinvent their games still have a lasting impact years after they release.

Some games, like Elden Ring, Cuphead, Starcraft, and others are already good without the need for expansion. Shadow of the Erdtree, The Delicious Last Course, and Brood War respectively were not needed for these titles, but still offered amazing expansions to already fantastic games. In contrast, when a game’s DLC needs to be good, it can almost be a title’s second chance, as players are practically re-introduced to worlds that didn’t quite capture their attention before.

5. Blood and Wine (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is already considered one of the best RPGs ever made, but players forget how much of that credit goes to the excellent DLC expansions the game had. Blood and Wine is the personification of everything The Witcher 3 does well, while also adding new gameplay and story elements that vastly improve your overall experience. Almost a game within a game itself, Blood and Wine takes players to the Duchy of Toussaint, an entirely new region that adds at least 30-50 new hours of gameplay to ravenous players looking for more content.

This expansion is a reinvention for how it changes so many of The Witcher 3‘s core systems to give players far more to do. New enemies for greater challenges are just the tip of the iceberg, as Blood and Wine introduces brand-new Mutation upgrade systems, and Grandmaster gear for the highest tier weapons and armor. The Dynamic Points of Interest mechanic also greatly changed how players engage with The Witcher 3‘s wider world, making it feel more immersive at every step.

The added combat and story depth in Blood and Wine easily solve many problems players had with the base game, which was often cited as being repetitive after a number of hours. Over 90 additional quests, 30 new weapon types, 20 new monsters, and heightened New Game+ features helped The Witcher 3 grow into its definitive version, turning an already great game into a masterpiece.

4. Phantom Liberty (Cyberpunk 2077)

Another huge DLC expansion for an already massive RPG is Phantom Liberty, the added content for CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Much like Blood and Wine, Phantom Liberty is great for how much it adds to Night City, introducing an enormous new region in Dogtown, a new map within the already big open world. However, the biggest draw of this DLC comes from how it changes Cyberpunk 2077 to its 2.0 version, an edition of the game that completely changed it from a rough initial launch.

The many, many issues of Cyberpunk 2077 are well-documented from its release, from performance issues to the bland feeling of the game’s mechanics, world, and other systems. With Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update, the potential of Cyberpunk 2077 was finally realized, overhauling the game’s combat while introducing a compelling new narrative for players to explore. This DLC remains one of the largest leaps in quality a game has ever gone through, refining the base game into something truly special.

3. Reaper of Souls (Diablo 3)

Diablo 3 was a game that released to vast player criticisms, especially when Diablo 2 was held in such wide regard. Egregious monetization and horrible endgame systems were something that players originally thought they would have to live with, until Reaper of Souls changed everything. This expansion was basically a reinvention of the whole game, taking out monetization problems and revamping almost every aspect of the title people had problems with. The endgame became arguably the best in the series, adjusting the innovations Diablo 3 had made and polishing them to an insane degree.

In a way, Reaper of Souls helped Diablo 3 find its identity through its changes. This expansion also came out along with the “Loot 2.0” update, which changed how players unlocked new gear and items. Since the Diablo series is best known for gaining a treasure trove of valuables for accomplishing difficult tasks, this single change may have saved the series from being ridiculed by players. The sheer number of improvements present in Reaper of Souls makes the base version of Diablo 3 unrecognizable, easily making it one of the best reinventions an expansion can create.

2. Iceborne/Sunbreak (Monster Hunter: World/Rise)

Modern expansions for the Monster Hunter series are legendary for a reason, as they almost represent when the “real” game releases. Both the Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter: World and Sunbreak for Monster Hunter: Rise are equally innovative for their respective games, changing everything about how strength is calculated into those experiences. Either game was initially criticized for having lackluster endgame content, but the expansions added almost completely new games within that endgame space.

Iceborne and Sunbreak added tons of new monsters, including new rarity tiers for gear that made the base games’ endgame sets practically worthless by comparison. Sunbreak in particular is worth its own praise, as it added new systems like Switch Scrolls and gave weapons more skills to diversify how players hunted down new monsters. The new grind in each game also overhauled skills and mechanics from the base game, cutting out tedium and reinventing each game to make the core experience shine even more than usual.

1. The Taken King (Destiny)

Destiny and Destiny 2 would not be as popular as they are without The Taken King expansion, it’s as simple as that. Not only is this one of the best expansions to a game ever made, but it is almost single-handedly responsible for reinventing the first Destiny into the experience players are used to now in its sequel. Every system in the first Destiny was refined and expanded through The Taken King, from Strikes to Raids that provided real, tangible challenges that pushed player builds to their absolute limit.

The story of The Taken King also redefined the snippets of lore established in the base game, creating a cosmic narrative that captured players in new ways. The fantastic campaign of this expansion was full of interesting and innovative levels, including Raid designs that would remain a staple of the series going forward. This expansion also pushed ideas of teamwork and synergy more than ever before, fulfilling its initial premise as a collaborative game meant to see players join up together online.

Many communities were born from The Taken King, lasting all the way until Destiny 2‘s upcoming shutdown in 2026. The enhanced gameplay and narrative of this DLC allowed players to craft their own stories as a team, shifting the game’s original focus into something that made it a longer-lasting and far more impactful title. To this day, The Taken King is attributed to Destiny‘s rise, showing how an expansion’s reinvention can pave a new path for a game to become widely celebrated.

What game expansion did you think reinvented an otherwise average game? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!

Game Expansions & DLC Aren’t What They Used to Be