Downloadable content existed, mostly for free, long before corporations reinvented it with a new catchphrase. Once online functionality for consoles became advanced enough, downloading stuff for your games became possible, and since the console owners can control any content that goes through their services with an iron fist, they will squeeze out every penny possible out of you. We can clearly see this with how Valve and Epic are constantly releasing extra free stuff for their PC games, while with the console equivalents you either have to pay for it or get nothing at all.
This is also getting to the point now where developers like Bethesda instead choose to release several lackluster DLC packs instead of a full-fledged expansion pack.