Steam tightens rules for developers selling season passes

Valve has changed Steam’s terms and conditions, which means that developers have more obligations if they want to sell a ‘season pass.’ For example, the game maker must describe the content in concrete terms, and a customer can get a part of the purchase price back if DLC is canceled.

Valve is now calling a season pass a “purchase of future downloadable content,” and there are new rules for that, as SteamDB developer Pavel Djundik noted. For example, when offering a season pass, developers must clearly describe what a customer can expect and when this new content will be available. This does not have to be exact, but it must give a concrete indication of what the customer is promised. The gaming platform operator mentions as examples mentioning “new weapons and enemies” and a release in a specific quarter of a year.

In addition, a season pass must make at least ‘one DLC’ available to customers upon release. In other words, if a customer purchases a season pass, he must receive something in return immediately. The only exception to this is a pre-order of a game’s deluxe edition: then a developer may promise the new content at a time after the game’s release.

Valve will now treat season passes like DLC: “By offering a season pass, you are promising future content. Therefore, you must promise a release window for all content in the season pass. That timeframe is a promise to both the customer and to Steam.” If the development of DLC is delayed, a developer may request a one-time extension of up to three months during the life of the season pass. If specific content was promised but is ultimately canceled, the customer is entitled to a refund of a portion of the purchase price. Valve refers to this as “the value of the unreleased DLC.”

A season pass is a concept where gamers can purchase future content for a game in advance. Such packages are often cheaper than if a customer were to buy the DLCs separately. Ubisoft, among others, usually offers season passes for major game franchises such as Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and Ghost Recon. The developers of Batman: Arkham Knight, Titanfall, various Call of Duty and Battlefield games, The Last of Us, and LA Noir have also applied this revenue model before.