Episodic video game

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Episodic video game" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (September 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this article, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

An episodic video game is a video game of a shorter length that is commercially released as an installment to a continuous and larger series. Episodic games differ from conventional video games in that they often contain less content but are developed on a more frequent basis.

Such a series may or may not have continuity, but will always share settings, characters, and/or themes. Episodic production in this manner has become increasingly popular among video game developers since the advent of low-cost digital distribution systems, which can immensely reduce their distribution overhead and make episodes financially viable. Alternatively, it can be used to describe the narrative of the game. Examples of episodic video games include most Telltale games, Alan Wake, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Life Is Strange, Resident Evil: Revelations (and Revelations 2), Half-Life 2: Episode One (and Two) and Star Trek Online.