Season Pass (video Games)
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A season pass is a form of
video game monetization Video game monetization is a type of process that a video game publisher can use to generate revenue from a video game product. The methods of monetization may vary between games, especially when they come from different genres or platforms, but ...
in which consumers purchase a discounted package for current and future
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
(DLC) and/or
expansion packs An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules or game mechanics th ...
for a video game atop its base cost. A game may have a single season pass or, for some lifestyle games, new season passes over time. The name originates from the concept of a season pass/ticket for sports (although more akin to acquiring the box set of a season from a TV series). First introduced around 2011, the use of season passes became commonplace among triple-A and
mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...
publishers by the end of the 2010s. Season passes can be controversial because the contents of a season pass are not fully itemized beforehand or may not contain all planned DLC, with some instances of season passes being called scams by the gaming press.


Approach

Season passes may be available to purchase alongside the game prior to its release, or may be available after the game's release. Once purchased, the player gains all content that has been released to date under that season pass and eligible for future, unannounced content. Many season passes state the type of content that players will get even though the exact content may be unknown at the time. Season passes may cover all planned expansion content for a game and represents a one-time purchase. In other cases, season passes cover the content of a game for a limited period of time, on the order of months to years, which allow the developer to continue to add more content in lieu of developing a wholly new title as to continue to draw in revenue. For example, Ubisoft's ''
Rainbow Six Siege ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege'' is a 2015 tactical shooter game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. The game puts heavy emphasis on environmental destruction and cooperation between players. Each player assumes control o ...
'' has used annual season passes that give players that purchase them access to new playable characters ("operators"), maps, weapons, and game modes. Some of these elements can be obtained by players without a season pass, using in-game credits, while other content remains exclusive to those with the pass. Ubisoft has considered this a better approach for players rather than developing a sequel. Similarly, ''
Destiny 2 ''Destiny 2'' is a free-to-play online first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. It was originally released as a pay-to-play game in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It became free-to-play, utilizing the games as a se ...
'' used an annual pass model for its second year of content, providing players with access to exclusive content through three DLC drops over the course of the year; for the game's third year, they switched to a season pass model, with each season's seasonal pass available to purchase à la carte. For some games with recurring season passes, content from older passes may become integrated into the base game at no additional cost.


History

One of the first season passes in video games was used by
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
with '' L.A. Noire'' in 2011. Later the same month,
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Games (formerly Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) is an American video game publisher based in Burbank, California. The publisher was founded as a division of Warner Bros. on January 14, 2004, as well as the WB Games brand. ...
continued the trend with ''
Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...
'',
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
released their EA Sports Season Ticket in August 2011. By the mid 2010s, season passes had become common in AAA games. By the end of the decade, season passes continued to be offered for many games, although some publishers began to forgo offering them in favor of free DLC due to the negative publicity created by their announcement shortly after release. The rising popularity of
loot box In video game terminology, a loot box (also called a loot crate or prize crate) is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomised selection of further virtual items, or Loot (video gaming), ''loot'', ranging from simpl ...
es and
Microtransactions Microtransaction (mtx) refers to a business model where users can purchase in-game virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransactions ...
at the time also played a role in the decreasing popularity of the season pass, although the gaming press has speculated that this may result in less post-release content overall.


Controversy

Season passes have been criticized for being anti-consumer, as they psychologically pressure customers to spend more money. It is also impossible to know if they are worth buying since they cannot be reviewed until they are released, and the discounts they offer are sometimes offset by poor-quality content that the player would otherwise not have bought. Additionally, if a game performs poorly in the market, the prices of the DLC for it can fall faster than any discount people would have received by immediately buying its season pass. Andrew Reiner of ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'' called some season passes "scams coming from money-hungry corporations" because so little information is divulged that consumers can be subject to
bait-and-switch Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, the merchant "baits" the customer by advertising a product or service at a low price; then when the customer goes to purchase the item, they disco ...
tactics, like using a lower-quality studio to develop the content, or delaying the content's release significantly. ''
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'' criticized multiplayer season passes as splitting the community of online games, praising games that had instituted a different model that was more dependent on cosmetic DLC rather than downloadable maps, such as ''
For Honor ''For Honor'' is a Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) action game developed and published by Ubisoft. The game allows players to play the roles of historical forms of soldiers and warriors such as knights, samurai, and vikings, controlled u ...
'' and ''
Titanfall 2 ''Titanfall 2'' is a 2016 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. A sequel to 2014's ''Titanfall (video game), Titanfall'', the game was released worldwide on October ...
''. ''
Shacknews ''Shacknews'' is an American video game journalism website founded in 1996. It that publishes news articles, reviews, and cheat codes. History ''Shacknews'' was founded in 1996 by Steve Gibson. The website, originally named 'Quakeholio', was ...
'' criticized a number of games for having disappointing season passes, such as '' Evolve'' and '' Aliens: Colonial Marines''.


References

{{Video game monetization Business models Video game terminology Video game distribution Video game controversies