Returnal has received great praise for its gameplay, story, and replayability, but some are likely wondering if there is more coming. Plenty of games get post-launch support, after all. Here’s whether some Returnal DLC is coming alongside any sort of content roadmap.
Is there Returnal DLC coming?
We hear the community and we love you all. Nothing to announce now, but keep playing and enjoying the challenge as you can!#Returnal #PS5
https://t.co/WA1tPzY1hZ— Housemarque (@Housemarque) April 30, 2021
Housemarque has not revealed if Returnal is getting any DLC or not, but it did recently tell Axios in an interview that it is working on “new content and updates and fixes and stuff like that.” The Finnish developer has not tweeted about any potential season pass. There’s not even a content roadmap for the roguelite so it’s unclear what this “content” coming down the theoretical pipeline would be.
But that doesn’t meant Housemarque won’t support the game with DLC. As the above tweet shows, it appears as though the studio is looking to add some sort of saving system in the future. Players can’t currently save in the middle of a run, which some have not taken too kindly to. And as PlayStation Lifestyle notes, Returnal is primed for a Photo Mode, which is a feature that almost all Sony games have or receive in a post-launch patch. Given how most games get some decent updates after launch, it’s likely Returnal will at least get some notable patches.
Housemarque is also no stranger to DLC. Super Stardust HD, Super Stardust Delta, Super Stardust Ultra, Resogun, Dead Nation, and Alien Nation all received paid downloadable content after release that added features, levels, or modes. However, Housemarque’s last two titles, Nex Machina and Matterfall, did not receive DLC.
Paid DLC for roguelites is a little less common. Dead Cells has gotten two premium packs, but many of the other entries in the genre that have had more paid content have been roguelikes. Returnal is also a narrative-based game, meaning it might be more difficult to add in new levels to Selene’s loop since any new stages would probably have to contribute to the story in some way. Regardless, it’s not impossible to add to the game so it’s probably just up to what Housemarque thinks is appropriate.
