How do dlc season passes work

Bungie used to release regular small DLCs with limited content, and one big expansion, every year. Now we get a year full of pretty regularly updated content, in exchange for a single season pass price, but the content comes and goes like the tide.

I want to explore which was better, and whether a combination should be used instead. Season passes are a core part of free-to-play games. With Shadowkeep, Destiny 2 became a free-to-play title, and the season pass was introduced. You could get the game and enjoy it without spending a penny.

If you do though, you benefit with the best gear and weapons early, and you get some extremely nice cosmetic rewards on top of them. Around that same time in , Mortal Kombat also offered a season pass for it's downloadable fighters.

Some argue this business model provides benefits to both publishers and players alike. For publishers, this bundling together with a discount may influence players who were going to only buy a small amount of DLC to purchase more of it to take advantage of the discount. For players, those who were already planning to buy all of a title's DLC are able to receive a somewhat significant discount.

Some have criticized that publishers can abuse the Season Pass by deceptively offering only a portion of the DLC, leaving out some content that must still be purchased separately. This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:.

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Usually Season Pass saves you a little money. Choose where you want to search below Search Search the Community. Lewis Ash. The use of the term season pass makes it sound like you only get stuff for a limited time. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.

Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. How satisfied are you with this discussion? Previous Next. How satisfied are you with this reply? At the Nozzle Xbox Ambassador. For Forza, They have what is known as a car pass like a season pass for other games that offer say maps. Here is one for Forza 4 via the website: "Get 42 extra cars at one low price! Hope this helps!

DLC and season passes give developers and publishers money to work on a game after its release to add new content for gamers. Gamers are also looking for reasons to keep playing the game they love. DLC can dynamically add content which does just that. It also allows developers and publishers to release their game in a timely fashion, so players can enjoy the base game without waiting several years.

Are DLC and season passes a perfect system? There are countless examples of DLC and season passes failing to deliver on quality, being more of a cash-grab than a meaningful addition to a game. While there are reasons you shouldn't buy DLC and season passes , there's no denying that they're here to stay: developers and publishers make money from them, and gamers are happy to buy them.

Not every piece of DLC or season pass is worth it, but sometimes you should take the plunge and purchase a game's extra content. Though the quality of DLC can vary, it certainly helps if you're already invested in the game to begin with.

DLC can add exciting, new moments to a game you love, giving you more reasons to keep on playing or dive back into it. Whether it's something minor like an extra outfit, or perhaps a story DLC taking place in a new area, DLC can keep things from getting stale or too familiar. And, if you're loving a game and know you're going to buy most, if not all DLC for it, then it can't hurt to buy the season pass.

As games are getting more expensive, there's mounting pressure on developers to make a financially successful game or risk getting shut down, even if it's not their fault.