So if past behavior is any indicator, I think it's safe to assume that TES6 will have 2-3 expansion packs following release. Not including any sort of "Day 1 DLC" or "Season Pass" type stuff if Bethesda decides to go that route.

It begs the question, is that adequate? You've got indy developers like OVERKILL who continually release small content updates to their games almost a year after release, and even stated that they have at least a year more worth of content planned on top of that.

So my question then becomes... how many expansions would you expect TES6 to be supported by? What do you consider an expansion? Is something as small as Hearthfire, for example, adequate to keep people engaged in the product for an extended period of time?

DLC for The Elder Scrolls games goes like this:

• Faction DLC (Tribunal/Knights of the Nine/Dawnguard): A new faction (sometimes two) is introduced into the game that one can join, unlocking a new storyline, weapons, armor, items, and lore.
• Daedric Prince DLC (Bloodmoon/Shivering Isles/Dragonborn): Some plot involving one or two of the Seventeen Daedric Princes involves the player and usually unlocks a new location with a new storyline, weapons, armor, items, and lore.
• World Upgrade/Game Aesthetics: (Other Morrowind DLC/Other Oblivion DLC/Hearthfire): Includes things that makes the game more enjoyable, like children, new tools, player abilities, etc.

So yeah. Expect about three at least.

I would say 3 at the most. Maybe more.

I'd rather have one or two proper expansions a la Bloodmoon, Tribunal, and Shivering Isles than lots of little things more often.

Oblivion had lots of picky small things, and while it was OK it didn't really add up to much, or more it cost a lot for the content you got. If they'd have released it all-in-one at 90% of the price I probably would've viewed in a better light. Of course I can't fault the Shivering Isles, it was a true expansion that was worth every penny.

Skyrim had a mix. Hearthfire was small, I personally enjoyed the content, but I wanted more (just look at what some of the modders can do). Dawnguard was a solid Dlc worth the asking price, although the inclusion of crossbows probably helped the case, even if the implementation of said crossbows was lacklustre. Drahonborn was getting more towards the kind of expansions I like to see.

Overall, give me a few big DLC's/expansions and I'm happy. Don't give me piecemeal oddities.

I just now see the pattern. It makes so much sense now

Yep, it's as IceFireWarden says. And personally, I think they've nailed it. I really respect them for choosing to only release sizeable DLC, while including new additions for free via patches. Speaks volumes about their business ethic, regardless of what people say.

I expect the two major releases + possibly several minor releases pattern to continue for the next game.

I would like to see 3 DB size DLC's and 2 Hearthfire size. Quite happy to purchase them if they're good quality and if it helps a developer I like, all the better.

Well, let's see. They stated their intent with DLC for Skyrim (moving forward from Oblivion and particularly Fallout 3) was to have fewer DLCs that had more content within them. In the same interview it was stated that despite the positive reception, the resources they put into Shivering Isles didn't really pay off, so I'm afraid we won't see another expansion the size of Shivering Isles again.

They do seem to have a trend of going for one small to medium sized expansion, and then finishing it off with a large expansion, with little stuff in between.

Tribunal wasn't a faction-driven expansion - it was an expansion in the same vein as Bloodmoon, Dragonborn, or Shivering Isles, simply on a much smaller scale. It gives you a huge city to wander, a story-driven main quest (that isn't centered on a new faction like KotN or Dawnguard), and tons of side-quests and new toys. Knights of the Nine is probably the smallest "expansion" in the series that isn't a "minor" DLC - all it had was the one faction questline and set of armor, although that's not to say it wasn't an excellent expansion. Dawnguard might be on par with Tribunal in sheer content; aside from a great main quest, it had tons of faction-specific radiant quests, two worldspaces on par with Blackreach in size and detail, and tons of great items. Not to mention the unrelated stuff that's just thrown in for free, like the werewolf perk tree or the quest for the Aetherium Forge.

Then there's always a DLC that adds a new landmass to explore, and puts the bulk of the content on that landmass. Bloodmoon didn't have as many great new items compared to the others, but the East Empire Company questline was fantastic, and the main quest was really well-done. Shivering Isles is probably the biggest and best of these kinds of expansions we'll get, though I'd be pleasantly surprised if I'm proven wrong on this one. Dragonborn has the shortest main quest, but it also has a ton of awesome side-quests, and some of the best gear and bonuses I've seen so far: I think it's a really great indication of where Bethesda's going as game designers.

Then we've got the little things. Bethesda has a few random mods for Morrowind that are free for PC users to do whatever they want with, but the general consensus is that these mods range from okay to kind of awful. Oblivion's little content packs are all over the place; they're all fantastic except for the infamous Horse Armor, though. Hearthfire is great if not painfully buggy (they need to figure out a system where they can actually patch their DLCs), and they also added some free content like ranged kill-cams, mounted combat, and Legendary Skills (!). Did any of the patches for Morrowind or Oblivion add free stuff like that?

It should be noted that DLC as we know it didn't exist when Bethesda released the expansions for Morrowind - digital distribution wasn't widespread enough, so they had to really focus on making a couple of expansions that were worth it. Overall, I'd say Skyrim has the most cohesive batch of DLC, and I like the path they're taking. Not sure I like the implications of them giving Xbox owners first dibs, though, although I'm confident Bethesda won't screw us over with overtly harmful business practices like some other devs have.

I think Bethesda Game Studios should support their video games for more than 1 year, 1 and a half year or 2 years. Support the video games for like 3 years up to 5 years.

CD Projekt RED supported The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for like 2 years and now plan on supporting The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for years to come more than 3 years sounds like it from the wording.

I wish we see Bethesda Game Studios support all of their video games for up to 5 years or close to 5 years.

VALVe has released so many video games since 2004 when they released Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source for sale and are still updating the Source Engine every once in a while and updating Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life: Episode Two, and Team Fortress 2 with patches to fix bugs every once in a while, especially Team Fortress 2 keeps getting content added, but that's because Team Fortress 2 is Free to Play (F2P).

I say Bethesda Game Studios should release about 5 expansion packs for sale maybe 6 expansion packs for sale.

I just want The Elder Scrolls video games to be very big now, add lots of content, lots of new features, but don't make the land so empty fill it with lots of interesting stuff to do.