In some ways, DLC practices in gaming have felt like the wild West. The relatively new approach of releasing and then expanding a game (sometimes by multiple factors once all is said and done) has naturally come with potholes as developers have faced little regulation when it comes to transparency and promptness of promised content.
Such happenings have naturally frustrated not only players when they occur, but also Valve-owned gaming platform: Steam. Steam has just rolled out some new rules and regulations concerning Season Pass DLC content, which essentially holds developers feet a bit closer to the fire as they’ll now be required to deliver more effectively on their promises.
Moving forward, developers will have to list exactly what’s being included in their Season Passes on Steam and relative time frames said content will be dropping at if it does not release all at once.
“By offering a Season Pass, you are promising future content,” reads the post. “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,” concludes the statement.
Indeed, across a few instances now the fighting game community has expressed frustration at being prompted to purchase post-launch content without even knowing what it fully entails, and we’ve seen developers like Capcom learn this lesson a few years back.
Bandai Namco, on the other hand, used an approach that asked Tekken 8 fans to pre-purchase the first four DLC characters without knowing who they’d be by folding the Year 1 Character Pass into deluxe editions of the game. It should still be noted that Tekken 8 players do have the option to wait and buy each of these four characters for $7.99 apiece as they release.
Since reading through pages of regulations intended for developers can get a little dry, we’ve rounded up Steam’s new season pass guidelines so you can get an idea of what to expect moving forward:
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).
A Season Pass must include at least one released DLC when it is made available for purchase*
*with the exception of Season Passes included in a Pre-Purchase of a deluxe edition.
Delays or cancellations in DLC release schedules are also getting further regulation as Valve is requiring developers to take relatively quick remedial action or reimburse players.
“We understand that game development doesn’t always go as planned,” says Steam. “If you think you aren’t going to be able to release a DLC into the Season Pass by the quarter you promised, we allow you to self-reschedule the release date one time only during the Season Pass. You can pick a new date up to 3 months later than you originally selected. If you cancel a DLC in a Season Pass, customers will be offered a refund for the value of unreleased DLC.”
There’s a lot more to the post as Valve gets ahead of likely questions and other important details for developers. Let us know in the comments below what you think of this clearly customer-centric move by Valve, and if you think any major fighting game developers will be updating their DLC policies in the near future as a result.
Thanks to Vinny Aguiar for sending this our way.