Packaging DLC files

Downloadable content, or DLC, is additional game content that is delivered separately from the base game. This topic explains how to use the Wwise File Packager to prepare audio DLC packages, which you can combine with other game assets. However, if you are using the Wwise Unreal Integration or the Wwise Unity Integration, we recommend that you use the bulk asset packaging option in Unreal (see Packaging Wwise Assets as Bulk Data) or the Addressables system in Unity (see The Wwise Addressables Package for Unity), respectively.

If you are using the File Packager for your DLC, it is important to remember the following best practices and requirements when planning:

When packaging content for the base game, set all of the default file assignments to None and manually assign files to packages (see Manually assigning files to a package) so that you can identify any DLC you add later.
After you generate the packages for the base game, save the project. You can use it as a point of reference for the initial game release.
Ensure that you place any DLC-specific SoundBanks, streaming files, and loose media in separate DLC packages.
When creating DLC assets, use the same version of Wwise and the same Wwise project that you used for the base game to ensure compatibility of the SoundBank and package formats.
If any DLC-specific changes affect SoundBanks that already exist in the base game, add the SoundBanks to the DLC package as well. Package loading order determines which SoundBanks take precedence in case of conflict.
To determine loading order, use the File Package Low-Level I/O, specifically the CAkFilePackageLowLevelIO::LoadFilePackage() method. For more information, see Sample File Package Low-Level I/O Implementation Walkthrough.

Workflow example

The following example demonstrates how to work with DLC packages.

SoundBankA, which contains all of the base game assets, is assigned to Package_Main.
The content of SoundBankA is modified after the initial release with additional DLC sound structures. It is assigned to the new, DLC-specific Package_DLC.
The File Package Low-Level I/O is updated to load Package_Main before Package_DLC.
The game, which has the DLC, loads Package_Main and then Package_DLC.
When the game loads SoundBankA, Wwise loads it from Package_DLC, which has a higher priority than Package_Main.

You can continue to deploy new content for your game in the same manner. Just remember to manually assign all files to a package and to save your File Packager project to create a point of reference for each release.

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