It was recently announced that Shadow of Mordor will be getting an extensive Season Pass, which includes extra Gaurdians of the Flaming Eye missions, early access to a new challenge series, the ability to play as Celebrimbor in special story missions and other additional content.
Season Passes are yet to reach a level where it is beneficial for both the consumers as well as the publishers. They exist because publishers don’t want consumers to sell their copies in the used games market. This is one of the reasons why there is a considerable gap between the releases of promised add-ons. But charging over Rs 1,000 for 4 extra maps is common practice now.
Sometimes, the add-ons take months to release. Everyone bought the Season Pass for Bioshock Infinite, hoping for an expansion of its exceptional story. Burial at Sea Episode 1 launched in November, while episode 2 came out in March; exactly a year after its launch. The Left Behind DLC for The Last of Us also came out eight months after its launch and while it was excellent, it was short. In other cases, the quality just isn’t good enough.
Its main purpose is to provide additional content to the consumers who enjoy the game and there are many cases where it has been justified.
In Borderlands 2, the Season Pass gives you four extra pieces of DLC. This entire package can last as long as the game’s story and at least two add-ons are even better than the main game. Then there are some games, like Infamous: Second Son, which are just begging for new content and apart from First Light, will not be getting additional DLC.
Also, the way publishers handle Season Passes needs to change.
Charging for it before a game comes out should not be allowed as some companies take advantage of it by removing content from the game. Value for money is even more crucial in this case, because they are charging for new content for a game we already own. But if people want more things to do in a game they love, and the content is priced well, Season Passes are an excellent evolution of Expansion Packs.
