TES IV: Oblivion - Horse Armor DLC - On This Day

16 years ago in the world of video games, we didn’t have something we would call a DLC package. We had expansions, user modifications, total conversions, etc. New content came into play through patches or patches. And then came that fateful day, April 3, 2006, when the Horse Armor Pack was launched for the then The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

It was an accessory in the form of two horse armor. It was sold separately on the Xbox Live Market and Bethesda's website for $ 2.50 for the Xbox 360 and $ 1.99 for the PC. It may not sound silly today at a time when some skins cost more than that, but while there were no LoL, Overwatch, and similar games yet, it was silly for many to give two and a half dollars for a 2.56-megabyte texture. It was especially funny that it was then the first and only DLC on offer for Oblivion, while Morrowind had previously received free add-ons.

Of course, the reaction of the players was extremely negative. Many have condemned and ridiculed Bethesda's horse armor, but the game's creators have stood their ground, arguing that the thing is completely optional - if you don't want it, don't buy it ready-made. Gamers on the PC later welcomed significantly better versions of these armor through user modifications, completely free; so the Horse Armor Pack was eventually removed from sale. However, the Xbox 360 version can still be purchased. And it still costs two and a half dollars.

Although Oblivion later received better and more comprehensive DLC add-ons (e.g. Knights of the Nine for three dollars), after the infamous horse armor, many game publishers ventured out and have since tried to sell anything and everything as DLC add-ons. For example, Saints Row 3 sold codes/tricks (which used to be free), Mortal Kombat X sold the option to easily perform Fatality, Prince of Persia got the real end of the story only with the DLC package, and more recently Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 sold a laser sight for one dollar.

We would like to say that they learned a lesson in Bethesda. And for a while, we thought they were, with content additions like Shivering Isles, Dragonborn, and the like. However, then came Fallout 76 in which the prices of cosmetics and other accessories were again outrageously high, more even than horse armor. There, one ordinary hat costs about five euros - whoever likes, let him choose.