Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator comes to Steam, but you have to buy the DLC again

How would you like one across your lips?

I confess: I have never played a Guilty Gear game. The closest I have gotten is playing the Persona 4 Arena games which is apparently a more casualized version of Guilty Gear or perhaps closer to Blazblue. The latest entry, Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-, is releasing on Steam on December 15, 2016. If I had infinite time and money I’d love to give it a shot considering the animation and different character play styles seem pretty neato. Their decision to not include DLC makes me hesitate on principle however. 

The console version was first released as Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- on PS3 and PS4 nearly two years ago. The updated -Revelator- version came out six months later in June, 2016 with all the downloadable characters from -Sign- included in the main game along with other additions. Another six months later, -Revelator- is coming to PC via Steam, but two of the three DLC characters, Dizzy and Kum Haehyun, will not be included in the port, forcing players to buy them.

The other downloadable character was Raven, but besides purchasing him with real money you can also unlock him with in-game currency. Why not do that for all three? The explanation companies always give for DLC is that “it’s extra content that wasn’t a part of the main games development budget and/or something we decided to do for the fans after the game launched.” If that were the case there is no reason not to include them in this port for PC players who likely won’t have long to enjoy the game online considering fighting games on PC not named Street Fighter or that don’t have cross-play aren’t active for a very long time.

Even when Dead or Alive 5: Last Round was released on various platforms, it included all the DLC characters from previous versions. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-‘s DLC characters Leo Whitefang, Elphelt Valentine, and Sin Kiske were included in -Revelator-. So what, it doesn’t count unless they change the name? I say a lot for what really is a mere nitpick, but I feel obligated to bring it up.