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Steam clamps down on vague promises and missed deadlines with new season pass guidelines

Valve is putting its foot down over vague, unfulfilling season passes on Steam. (Image source: 2K games / Wikipedia - edited)
Valve is putting its foot down over vague, unfulfilling season passes on Steam. (Image source: 2K games / Wikipedia - edited)
Valve has revealed new season pass guidelines for game developers and publishers selling on Steam. Game sellers will no longer be allowed to hide behind mystery boxes when selling season passes, and they will be held accountable when they fail to deliver promised content on time.

There have been some strong opinions about season passes and microtransactions since their appearance in the modern gaming scene, with many gamers dismissing the drip-drip content delivery system as just another cash grab for developers and publishers. Now, Valve is addressing the way game companies can deliver season passes with new guidelines for season passes in Steam. 

By offering a Season Pass, you are promising future content. In the process of launching a Season Pass you will be asked to commit to a launch timing for each content release in the Season Pass. That launch timing is a commitment to both customers and Steam.

Valve's two main pain points regarding season passes are timeliness and transparency. As part of the new guidelines, any season pass sold on Steam must now need to divulge what gamers will be getting when the new content launches. Additionally, if publishers fail to deliver a season pass on time — or rather at the latest three months after Valve says it will step in and refund players via Steam. 

When a Season Pass is made available for purchase on Steam, it must include the following information:

  • A complete list of all DLC included in the Pass. (i.e. listing each of the four DLCs included in a Pass).
  • A basic description of the content that’s included in each DLC. For example, the first content release might be “The Glitterlands Expansion – New area to explore, two new weapons, and new enemies.” It’s not required for the DLC to have a final name at the launch of the Season Pass. The information about the content in the DLC doesn’t need to be detailed (simply “new weapons” or “two new weapons” is acceptable, they don’t have to list the exact weapons).
  • Expected release date for each DLC. Quarter and Year (i.e. January to March 2025) or Season/Year is acceptable. Of course, a date that’s more precise is also fine (i.e. June, 2025 or June 1st, 2025).

Game publishers and developers are allowed to delay promised season pass content, however, developers need to contact Valve ahead of time and alert its customers to the delay. This three-month grace period is to accommodate development hiccups, which are all too common in gaming nowadays. 

Another small detail in the new season pass guidelines is that any season pass sold on Steam must include at least one DLC that is already available at the time of purchase, with pre-purchase season passes getting an exception for obvious reasons. 

It's difficult to assess how these new rules will affect the gaming landscape, but they are aimed at making things a little fairer towards gamers and consumers, although the exceptions made for pre-purchase season passes may mean we will see more of those pop up. 

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Source(s)

Valve, Teaser image: Wikipedia / 2K Games

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2024 11 > Steam clamps down on vague promises and missed deadlines with new season pass guidelines
Julian van der Merwe, 2024-11-22 (Update: 2024-11-22)