Trouble is brewing in Rapture. The recently launched Sinclair Solutions multi-player pack for BioShock 2 is facing upset players over the revelation that the content is already on the disc, and the £5 premium is an unlock code. It started when users on the 2K Forums noticed that the content is amazingly small: 24KB on the PC, 103KB on the PlayStation 3, and 108KB on the Xbox 360. 2K Games responded with a post explaining that the decision was made in order to keep the player base in tact, without splitting it between the haves and have-nots.

“The way our engine and game structure works is that people need to have the exact same content for people to play together,” wrote community manager 2K Elizabeth. “One of the challenges with post launch content for MP is that it can split the player base, and we want to avoid that whenever possible. For this content, creating the DLC package the way we did allowed for us to not split the player base – so whether you purchase the new content or not, you can still play with your friends.” The answer may not be enough to satisfy upset fans who would’ve preferred on-disc content unlocked from the beginning. But as Shacknews notes, it’s possible this content was made on a separate DLC budget. That would essentially force the company to recoup the development costs through DLC charges.

It does raise the question of what will happen with future DLC. This pack is a large boost to the multi-player, but 2K has promised more packs coming in the future, which could include more multi-player expansions. If this move was made to keep from splitting the player base, one has to wonder if future multi-player DLC is already on the disc as well. The effort to keep everyone playing together is noble, but if it leads to more instances like this one months down the line, fans will probably grow increasingly annoyed.

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