Even Single-Player Games Launch With Season Passes Nowadays, And That’s A Problem

There was a time when spending 60 to 70 dollars on a triple-A game usually meant that you gained access to the whole title on day 1. Nowadays though, this is increasingly starting to feel like a pipe dream. Publishers like Ubisoft are now launching games that have season passes attached, even if they are single-player titles. It’s one thing to have additional content coming out for live service titles.

But you’d imagine that single-player experiences should be complete as soon as they are shipped. But this is no longer the case anymore. While adding more content later down the line in the form of DLC or additional patches isn’t a bad idea. When you purposely block content off, just to have it shipped at a later date to further charge your customers, that’s when things get messy. Here are some other reasons why season passes are becoming a problem. 

$70 Doesn’t Get You The “Full” Experience Anymore

The usual level of polish that once used to be associated with triple-A titles is all but gone now. As a result, you’re left with games that not only launch with tons of bugs and performance problems. But then also have the audacity to make you pay much more than 70 dollars to see the entirety of what they have to feature. Take Assassin’s Creed: Shadows as an example.

Ubisoft is actively gatekeeping content from the game if you “only” buy the Standard Edition, which is already full-priced at 70 dollars. For this, you’re awarded just the base game. If you happen to pre-order the game, you’ll get access to an additional quest called “Thrown to the Dogs.” So at this point, they are actively locking parts of the game away if you don’t pre-order their titles.

What makes it worse is that additional features are locked behind the more expensive editions. For example, the bundle featuring the Season Pass costs around $110. And if you want the “Ultimate Pack,” which includes a number of additional items and in-game gear, you’ll have to fork over as much as $130 dollars. It’s clear locking cosmetics behind expensive bundles wasn’t enough. Now, studios are outright limiting gameplay quests and items behind season passes and expensive bundles.

Games Don’t Feel Complete At Launch

It’s one thing for multiplayer titles to develop over time. But you’d expect single-player games to be worthwhile experiences from day 1. But clearly with where the industry is heading, games will just end up being seasonal things that start off with just a promise of completion. No one wants to play a single-player title, seemingly complete it, and then be told to come back later to see more of the story.

Let’s not even get into the implications this has on the storytelling. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that video game devs might just end up locking crucial parts of the narrative behind these seasonal passes, essentially forcing players into buying them if they want to see the conclusion. While this isn’t being done on a large scale right now, it does feel like that’s where things are going. 

Plus, the whole concept of buying a season pass for a game that you don’t even know you’re going to like seems absurd. We’ve seen with titles like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League how buying into those expensive bundles can be hugely problematic in the long run. Especially if the game turns out terrible. It feels like a way to trap customers into paying for titles, without a guarantee of them even being good in the first place.