Pre-Delivered Content
The Pre-Delivered Content pattern—historically termed “On-Disc DLC”—is a manipulative resource-extraction strategy formally categorized under “Hidden Costs” and “Forced Action.” It occurs when a software provider covertly installs premium, locked digital assets (e.g., expansion packs or high-resolution textures) directly onto the user's local hardware without explicit consent. By offloading hosting and bandwidth burdens onto the user, the provider forcibly consumes private physical storage capacity. The interface then presents these locally stored assets as “locked” until a financial transaction is completed, effectively coercing the user into paying for access to data they have already been forced to host on their own machine.
1
Unconsented Local Storage Consumption
Condition 1: Unconsented Local Storage Consumption
Given
To quantify the unauthorized appropriation of user hardware, we define as the user's physical storage environment and as the set of high-capacity assets intended for future monetization. We contrast this with , the explicit user request to install said content. The feature triggers if the system autonomously injects the payload into the storage architecture without authorization, permanently consuming capacity as a hidden cost of the baseline installation:
2
Visual Density of Locked-Content Badges
Condition 2: Visual Density of Locked-Content Badges
Given
To establish a visual baseline for Pre-Delivered Content, the algorithm scans the rendered interface for locked-content indicators—padlock icons, “Purchase to Unlock” overlays, or greyed-out premium feature tiles. The feature triggers if the volumetric density of locked-versus-accessible content nodes exceeds a threshold , indicating that the interface is visually dominated by assets the user has already been forced to host locally but cannot access without payment:
3
Semantic Framing of Local Assets as Purchase Opportunities
Condition 3: Semantic Framing of Local Assets as Purchase Opportunities
Given
To establish a semantic baseline for Pre-Delivered Content, the algorithm compares the semantic framing of content items already present on the user's storage device. The feature triggers if locally stored assets are semantically described as “unlockable,” “premium,” or “downloadable” when the download has already occurred and the data resides on the user's hardware, reframing an already-consumed storage cost as a purchase opportunity: