Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
---

Title: Steam will force developers to be transparent about their season pass
plans

Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:23:14 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/steam-will...

Season passes are one of the most common ways to generate revenue for games
such as Fortnite or Call of Duty that want players to keep returning day
after day, month after month. This week, PC game platform Steam has rolled
out support for this monetization approach. The Valve-owned platform
clarified its policy about what it considers a season pass, as well as
implementing rules for how developers should communicate with players about
pass content.

Steam documentation now states that when a season pass is made available for
a game, it must list all of the downloadable content (DLC) included within
that purchase. Developers will also need to provide an expected release date
for each DLC. Delays are common in game development, but Valve will only
allow a studio to reschedule a season pass' release date once; if more
changes are needed, Valve has to get involved with making that change. In
cases where a season pass is canceled, customers must receive a refund for
any unreleased content that they have paid for.

"By offering a Season Pass, you are promising future content," the
documentation reads. "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. If you
aren't ready to clearly communicate about the content included in each DLC
AND when each DLC will be ready for launch, you shouldn't offer a Season Pass
on Steam."

Steam recently revised its language around a few key topics this fall. The
platform now clarifies that the hundreds or thousands of games in players'
libraries are licenses to those titles rather than outright ownership. Valve
has also removed points about binding arbitration from its Steam Subscriber
Agreement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/steam-will...
transparent-about-their-season-pass-plans-212313027.html?src=rss

---
VRSS v2.1.180528