Valve has just updated its Steam policy for developers selling game season passes, making it clear that sellers have a responsibility to “clearly communicate” to players what DLC content is included in the season pass and when it will be released. Arriving soon.
As part of the new guidelines, developers or publishers who want to sell season passes for their games will ensure that they “include at least one published DLC when available for purchase.”
iGamesNews
That's not the only requirement either, “a complete list of all DLC included in the pass,” “an estimated release date for each DLC,” and “a basic description of what's included in each DLC” are also on the list.
Valve provides acceptable examples of the latter two, the date must be a season or quarter and year (or something more precise), and the description need only be a rough outline of what is included. So things like “new areas to explore, two new weapons, and new enemies,” the name of the DLC itself could be changed closer to the time if the developers wanted to.
“By offering the Season Pass, you are committing to future content,” Valve explains of the new policy. “During the launch of the Season Pass, you will be asked to commit to release times for each content release in the Season Pass. That is, the release time is a commitment to customers and Steam.
“If you're not ready to clearly communicate what's included in each DLC and when each DLC will be ready for release, you shouldn't make the Season Pass available on Steam. Selling a Season Pass is risky; because you're committing to releasing future content, and you have to commit to getting that content done on time.”
There's another caveat to this policy for players – what happens if a developer has to delay or cancel DLC included in the season pass you purchased? Well, if this happens “only once during the season pass,” the developer can “select a new date three months later than the date you originally selected,” but if it goes beyond that, they'll have to contact Valve.
In the meantime, canceling the DLC you purchased from the Season Pass will result in you “receiving a refund for the value of the unreleased DLC,” and if you want to know more about that, the policy page has more information on how that works – gritty details.
So, that's it. What are your thoughts on this new season ticket policy? Do you think buying a season ticket would make you feel more comfortable? Please tell us below?
