History Main / ExpansionPack

* ''{{Dominion}}'' is an interesting case. There are 6 (Soon to be 7) expansions (4 big (300-card) and 3 small (150-card)), one base/expansion mix (Intrigue), and one non-playable base set. To play any game, you need a base set (Original or Intrigue) or the non-playable base set plus any expansion. To make this confusing mix even odder, while the non-playable base-set contains only cards that are in the base set and intrigue, they're an updated design. So some players may purchase this set even if they already have one of the two base sets. It provides no new cards, but they are nicer-looking versions of old cards you might have at least two full sets of already.

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'' has 2 expansion packs- ''Warlords'' and ''Beyond the Sword''
* ''Civilization V'' also has an expansion pack called Gods and Kings.
** A new one is coming called ''Brave New World''.

* ''VideoGame/FZero X'' had one released only in Japan for the failed Nintendo 64DD add-on that included a car editor, a track editor, two new cups, and a few new music tracks.

* Creator/SternPinball's ''Pinball/{{Transformers}}'' table combines this with LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition; in addition to the regular game, it is available in three Limited Edition versions. Along with different artwork and color-coded metalwork, the [=LEs=] offer additional playfield elements that expand the game a bit, such as having to hit a target behind Starscream as he turns to block it, and a tilting mini-table for the Ironhide ramp.

* The ''VideoGame/ThePinballArcade'' is a framework for playing digital reproductions of PhysicalPinballTables. Players buy packs of one or two tables to add games as desired. They can also try games for free, but play stops once the lowest high score is reached.

* ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' has ''VideoGame/NewSuperLuigiU'', which contains 82 levels that are more difficult than the standard game. ''Luigi U'' is also planned for a standalone retail release, playing with the trope.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: VideoGame/DawnOfWar'''s only true expansion pack, ''Winter Assault'' made videogame history as the first RTS expansion since the above-mentioned ''Yuri's Revenge'' to introduce a new race or faction to play (The Imperial Guard), as well as the first where the new faction was playable in the game's campaign mode. ''Dark Crusade'' also introduced two additional races (The Tau and the Necron), but that was an example of that rarer beast, the ''Standalone'' ExpansionPack.

* ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic Grand Theft Autp: London 1969]]'' for the Playstation actually required you to have the original ''GTA'' disc to boot it. That is, it wasn't standalone like a MissionPackSequel.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto: London 1969'' for the Playstation actually required you to have the original ''GTA'' disc to boot it. That is, it wasn't standalone like a MissionPackSequel.

* ''VideoGame/{{Vietcong}}'' had ''Fist Alpha'' and ''Red Dawn'', while ''Vietcong 2'' had ''Fist Bravo''.

** ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' is shaping up to have some expansions in the near future due to several loose ends left by the ending.

* ''ItCameFromTheDesert'' had the data disk ''Antheads: It Came from the Desert II''.

* ''HalfLife'' had a number of successful expansions, including ''Blue Shift'' and ''Opposing Force'', and the sequel continues this tradition proudly with the ''Half-Life 2 Episodes'' series.

[[folder:Platformers and Puzzle Games]]
* Probably the ultimate expansion pack would be ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]'', a cartridge game that ''literally attached to'' the previous title, ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog 3''! This was because they were [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally meant to be one game]], but it was split in half to meet the deadline and a lock-on system was devised to allow the games to be played on their own or combined into one game. The feature also allowed them to make it an expansion for ''Sonic 2'' as well, allowing players to be Knuckles.

* ''Oh No! More Lemmings'' was originally conceived as an Expansion Pack for ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'', though was released as a standalone game. It is abundantly evident in the learning curve, which is a ''lot'' steeper in ''Oh No! More Lemmings'', where there's one category of stupidly easy levels that were clearly added in as an afterthought, followed by four categories of [[NintendoHard Nintendo Really Fucking Hard]] madness...
* The ''Xtreme Legends'' releases for the ''Warriors'' games. As consoles are generally not expansion-friendly, they've traditionally also worked as stand-alone games, but there's really nothing worth playing if you ''do'' use them as such... and with the advent of DLC, Koei seems to be moving towards just making them straight expansions.
* ''MagicalBattleArena'' has two. The first is a free, downloadable one that would add the characters [[{{Slayers}} Lina, Naga]], and [[MahoujinGuruGuru Kukuri]], as well as the stages [[{{Slayers}} Golem Fight Grounds]] and [[MahoujinGuruGuru Nekojima Valley]]. The second is [[http://fly-system.net/product/mba/pack_lyrical.htm Lyrical Pack]], which adds [[MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha Hayate, Vita, and StrikerS Nanoha, the Desert Planet and Virtual City Training Ground stages]], Mission Mode, Survival Mode, and various character and gameplay tweaks.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' GaidenGame ''[[FightingGame Scarlet Weather Rhapsody]]'' has ''Hisoutensoku'' as an expansion of sorts. It ''can'' be played alone, but to get most of the characters you'll need ''SWR''.
** ''Touhou'' fangame ''VideoGame/TouhouPocketWarsEvolution'' has one in the form of Touhou Pocket Wars Evolution ''Plus''. The expansion adds a follow-up story based around and playable versions of the cast of the 12th Touhou game.

* Owners of ''TetrisTheGrandMaster 2 - The Absolute'' got a free update kit called ''Tetris: The Grand Master 2 - The Absolute PLUS'' (commonly referred to as "TAP"), which added some new modes: TGM+ (garbage rises from the bottom if you're clearing lines too slowly), [[HarderThanHard T.A. Death]] (pieces drop instantly and you must survive for 500 levels, or 999 if you clear the first 500 fast enough), and allowed players to play Doubles mode on one credit. In addition, the "Grand Master" rank in Master mode is more difficult to obtain, [[NintendoHard as if it wasn't already hard enough]].
* ''BlueDragon'' had a pack of special items released for download, then an entire new BonusDungeon, then a NewGamePlus mode that made the game super difficult.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'', in arcades. ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection'', and ''Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion''.
* How Commander Pavel Chekhov ever became a full fledged commander is beyond many. Apparently he lost a whole disc with missions for Interplay's ''StarfleetAcademy''. Luckily these were found and added in an expansion called... ''Chekhov's Lost Mission''. It did not add much to the core game, aside from 5 new missions with brutal difficulty, tying up a few dropped story lines.
* ''Storm Legion''—which promises to triple the size of ''{{Rift}}''[='=]s game world—was announced in June of 2012.
* ''Worms: Reinforcements'' was an expansion for the original ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' that added a single-player challenge mode, new sounds and custom levels, and many game balance adjustments. Added items were health crates and the Mole Bomb (which rarely appeared due to a bug).

* ''RainbowSix'' had a follow up in the form of ''[[NintendoHard Eagle Watch,]] a series of depressingly tough levels. It's sequel contained Urban Operations that included mod support (such as replacing Rainbow with [[RogueWarrior SEAL Team Six]] and several 9/11 fan add ons), Covert Operations that includes a counterterror encyclopedia and officer test (in story one of the members of Rainbow was moving from an enlisted soldier to intel), and Black Thorn, which interestingly changed an airport level to a bus terminal after September 11, and the developers released the map for modders to play around with. The third game was followed up by Athena Sword and a Korean only expansion pack that is free to download. The XBOX and PS2 conversions were similar in having stand alone expansions to the main game, some deviating from the PC versions.

** ''MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' was followed by ''Portable Ops Plus'', a stand-alone expansion that focused on adding more multiplayer modes and character types from other ''MGS'' games in addition to those featured in the original ''MPO''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'' has 3 expansion packs- ''Warlords'', ''Beyond the Sword'' and ''Colonization''.
** However, ''Colonization'' is so different as to virtually be another game, a remake of the old ''Sid Meier's VideoGame/{{Colonization}}'' from the early 90s using the Civ IV engine. It's kind of a weird mix of expansion and separate game.

Related to DownloadableContent, which, depending on what and how much they add to their base games, are basically downloaded Expansion Packs. See MissionPackSequel for when developers try to pass these off as actual games.