Well, expansion - basically means we have a base product and we are expanding on that.
DLC is the hard one to nail down, basically anything can be classed as DLC, from a simple texture to a complete engine or game rewrite. The term literally is content (unspecified amount) which is available via download. So the above expansion, if you download it, is also DLC. Even the game itself is DLC.
Me, I would classify more in terms of content offering. So new levels, cosmetics, engine upgrades (downgrades in some cases) etc. The term expansion versus DLC really isn't applicable.

Fundamentally, nothing.
Both are ways to get already paying customers to pay even more.

But as others have pointed out, DLC can really be anything, like having some character gain different coloured boots. Expansion is supposedly expanding the game content, as in providing more playable content, although I guess someone could find a counter example somewhere which doesn't.

But going really old skool here, when "DLC" was just "C" (as in, it wasn't downloadable) it was called often "mission disk" which very clearly states what it's all about. It's a disk full of missions that weren't part of the original game. Sometimes there were also "speech packs" which again is so self-explanatory that there's no reason to really discuss what it means.

Expansions, and especially DLC can be anything.

But what is the difference between "free DLC" and "game update with new content"?
Both change something in the game offering something that has been created later with no need to buy something again.

Expansion Pack: Hearts of Stone, Blood and Wine

DLC: Yennefer alternative costume

It seems that almost everyone agrees on the subject. Moving on, I want to make an addition to the question.

Do you think that DLC's should be classified? I can divide this question into more distinct ones.

1. Should companies clearly state what kind of DLC they are offering so the buyer can immediately know what kind of DLC it is? Do you have any suggestions for the categorization?

Examples:
Item DLC
Language DLC
Extra Goods DLC (music files, artwork, etc)
Unit DLC
Game Content DLC

2. Should this be mandatory? As in companies are forced to label them as such so customers can know what it is without reading the description or even be able to filter it?

1) yes they should. Higher levels is fine though, maybe cosmetic, side content, gameplay enhancement.
2) yes it should. However it will never happen without laws in place to enforce, it's not in their interest to do this.

Well, as most has already commented on the Expansion Packs vs DLCs issue i'll not add much 2 it since i pretty much agree with wat most said in general. 1 thing 2 note though is that while DLCs in general do seem 2 be cheaper than Expansion Packs, if 1 were 2 add all of them they might & would usually end up much more expensive than probably the game itself (applies mainly 4 those top AAA games with many DLCs). The only gd thing i can say is DLCs give ppl the choice if they like it enough 2 buy it & not hving it automatically upgraded in the game like how it wld had it been installed as part of an expansion pack. (E.g. a expansion pack may changed a certain function in a game but DLC would give u the choice 4 that function 2 remain unchanged while allowing other DLCs 2 be added.)

As 4 ur new qns:
1. While i dun think it wld b compulsory 2 categorize diff types of DLCs, doing so wld of cos nevertheless help consumers distinguish & sort the DLCs that r interested in more easily.

2. Again, this i feel shd not be necessary unless there r wayyy too many DLCs produced 4 a particular game.

What is too much?

Train Simulator has currently 483 DLCs for purchase, which might be the world record.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/24010/Train_Simulator_2019/


Having said that, DLCs actually seem to make sense in that game and they really add something new and important to the game. At least I think so, I don't own the game and I'm not that interested in driving trains around for the sake of driving trains around.

But browsing through those DLCs, they make a lot of sense to me. I've seen much worse.

the year 2000

Rocksmith has about 1300, but Train Simulator still is more expensive when buying all of them ;)

Very true, but in this case the method is also affecting the content.

Back in the day when everything was distributed physically, absolutely no one offered content that did nothing else than changed some outfits of the game characters.

When content became "DLC", things like that started to appear.

I agree. I'd love for the boxed PC games to come back again.

But for the OP. DLC (which stands for Downloadable Content) is just what Expansions Packs are called now. It can come as Pixel says just with music or costumes or items. But it can also come as half decent such as The Witcher 3 addons.

Expansions, to me, expand the base game or game up to the point of the expansion releasing. Except in the case of WoW, expansions tend to create a better, more robust game experience over time. With WoW, and its many expansions, some of them have been utter crap and others have really added to the game.

DLC's could be anything from paying $5 for a knife skin in your favorite fps, to an actual expansion marketed as "DLC" because that's the buzz word in the industry. Very few companies separate the two anymore, but to me DLC is a little more inclusive than the term "Expansion pack".

To have an expansion, you need to, as I said, expand the game. You need to make it better in some way, add new gameplay, races, characters, quests, storylines, something.

DLC has no such stipulation and again, as I said, could mean anything you download in addition to a game. You could pay $10 for a digital strategy guide that you don't need because Google is free, but hey... Us gamers are not the most rational and tend to spend money on crap we shouldn't.

Gamers are also the reason companies sell lootboxes, which technically to me are a form of DLC, and loot packs, which are also a form of DLC. You're spending in most cases very real money for a very small chance at a meaningless item or buff. We the gamers are directly responsible for that being a big thing. Ubisoft isn't wrong, the lootboxes and currency packs wouldn't exist if gamers didn't buy them.

I am ashamed of my hobby but it is my hobby. I am ashamed of my fellow gamers but they are my fellow gamers. And I am ashamed the industry keeps creeping towards attempted exponential profits and not towards making fun, quality games.

This whole discussion leads me to believe the AAA houses will all move permanently to the mobile sphere, and that the pc platform will be left to the indie and medium devs, and Microsoft because they always program for Windows, despite not always programming for linux or mac.

The evolution of expansions to DLC has become the evolution of DLC to lootboxes, which is becoming the evolution of lootboxes to more predatory, but perceptually less predatory, microtransactions and a shift to mobile to make more money.

It's all evolution and until gamers start voting with their wallets, it'll keep getting worse. This is just my opinion, sorry for the wall of text.

Cant emphasise this enough. Companies wouldn't put effort into cash grabs like that if it didn't pay off. Unfortunately most people seem to be fine with it, micro transactions made up a huge percentage of overall game sales here last year. Why? No clue really, I think it's completely stupid.

It would definitely help, if they would at least distinguish clearly between story DLCs / expansions / extra campaigns and minor bonus content, and also between DLCs for single player or multiplayer.

Who should force them? It would be nice to have some customer-friendly standards that everybody adheres to, ideally by choice because they see the benefit in being very clear about the products they sell instead of trying to confuse potential buyers, but I'm not deluding myself that they will see reason or that anyone will be able to bind them to it. We will continue to see much confusion about DLC, just as we will continue to see all kinds of different game editions with random names.