This week Warner Bros and Rocksteady well and truly set the bat amongst the pigeons when it announce the Batman: Arkham Knight season pass last week. Priced at an eye-watering £33, it was a huge signifier of just how big business these post-launch DLC collections are.
Announced nearly two full months ahead of Arkham Knight’s release, the Season Pass costs almost twice as much as the base game can be found for pre-order. It didn’t end there either, with the obligatory £34.99 Call of Duty: Black Ops III season pass announced just days ago, adding four map packs for just £5 shy of the main game’s RRP.
Clearly season passes are selling, or they wouldn’t be happening. Much of the trouble stems from not knowing exactly what’s included. Some gamers are stumping up £20+ for a total mystery box, and unless players are interested in both single and multi-player, they're likely to find something disappointing.
This isn’t to say all DLC is bad, far from it, but the season pass practice appears as if it’s getting out of hand. The price of a game with all its content is practically doubling under our noses, so where does it end?
Personally the only season passes I’ve ever bought have been for Telltale Games and the original Borderlands (If it had one, I bought all the DLC at least), but huge price slashes before the seasons are even over have quickly taught me to wait. The same applies for The Evil Within; the season pass saw a significant price cut in a Steam sale before a single piece of DLC had even been released.
Are you a fan of season passes? What’s the maximum you would consider paying? Is the number of season passes spiralling out of control? Let us know what you think!
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PC Specs
Never have and never will I buy a season pass. It's ridiculous that games are DLC heaven now. Now if the game was truly amazing, and all they wanted to do was add more content for a price then I see that as fine. Paying in advance however makes no sense. That's just my opinion.
PC Specs
The key is to make a complete game on its own, one where players fall in love with core content and gameplay, after that no one has an issue with paying to expand upon a game they love, but you won't win fans by releasing half a game then charging more down the road. Season passes are worth it when they truly bring something new to a proven franchise or format that has already stood against time.
PC Specs
If handled right I don' mind...might be picking a fight but I have always thought battlefield did it right...since 3 and 4 every 15 dollar expansion (30.00 once if you have premium) but the expansions added inumerable hours to multiplayer gameplay, I have always forked out for the premium edition because I know it will last a good year+ and I know each expansion (map pack) is loaded with content.
PC Specs
sigh
Let's release Games and DLC's at the same time... and sell them separately...
This just keeps getting worse and worse, well, you still choose what to buy.
The companies will only win when they sell this little expensive products called DLC, so... whatever.
PC Specs
I generally like the idea of contest that is post - launch , and I am not even against the fact that they want money . The problem is the amount they want.
PC Specs
How about they just put the content on the disc like game devs used to?
Riddle me this!
What do you call a $40 pass for cut content from a game that hasn't even been released yet?
Answer: A ripoff :P
PC Specs
NEVER...!!!
PC Specs
Yeah NEVER BUY any season passes! Wait, what's season pass? :/
PC Specs
add... if i have money.. cause thats when i do, and if i like the game =3
PC Specs
I only consider buying season passes after all the content is released. That way I can judge if the content is good and gives me enough for my money.
Otherwise I stay away from them.
PC Specs
I just wait for complete/GOTY editions when they are on sale, about the only time they are worth it....
PC Specs
Pre-order a pre-order and get an exclusive right to pre-order a season pass with which you pre-order all DLCs! Pre-order at only the full price of the game and pay just 20% more to pre-order it earlier! Because being pre-first matters!
PC Specs
[Comment adjusted- please do not promote piracy on GD. We do not support it.]
PC Specs
bro not to be rude, dont mention piracy here, its GD its not allowed here
PC Specs
Yes and no because season passes are cheaper at the long run but they aren't worth it if all the content should be in the game in the first place instead
PC Specs
well.. if there's a lot of content and the price is reasonable they are worth it but sometimes it is better to wait for deals.. like i got watch dogs season pass for half a dollar on g2a
PC Specs
I've never brought a season pass, they are just a way of the developers making you pay more.
PC Specs
Same for me! but it's okay for dlc if the price is not ridiculous.the next time when they want more money it's going to be monthly pass lol...
PC Specs
Personally, I would have prefered they make the game less graphicaly demanding.
Than it would have lower system requirements and would be cheaper.
PC Specs
Cheaper?
PC Specs
Ya, this dlc business is due to the increasing cost of game development. Better graphics but less/worse content. Battlefront being an obvious example.
PC Specs
Wait for "GOTY Edition" with all DLC's. The price for this season pass is just ridiculous.
PC Specs
I end up getting them for games that I really like, but that doesn't mean that I think it's worth it most of the time. I really hate the fact that you can never quite tell which seasons passes are truly extra stuff or stuff that was developed right along side the main game and should have been included already.
PC Specs
I think some season passes are worth it, as long as you fully know what you're getting with it. But paying for a season pass that cost 60% of what the full game charges, that's when it enters the ridiculous area.
PC Specs
DLC's wil be the undoing of all future games. Not be a negative a-hole but, the day wil come where they sell a game at pure basics and put all the real exciting content in dlc's, forcing people to buy.