Steam updates its Season Pass policy to make it clear: there are no mystery boxes that don’t say what the DLC is and when it will arrive

Valve just updated Steam’s policy when it comes to developers selling season passes for games, making it clear that it is the duty of the party selling the product to “clearly communicate” to players what DLC will be included in a pass and when. I’ll be arriving.

As part of the new guidelines, developers or publishers who want to sell a Season Pass for their games will need to ensure that it includes “at least one DLC released when it is available for purchase.”

That’s not the only requirement either, with “a complete list of all DLC included in the Pass,” an “expected release date for each DLC,” and “a basic description of the content included in each DLC” also listed. .

Valve provided examples of what’s acceptable in terms of the latter two, with dates having to be a season or quarter and year (or something more precise), and descriptions should only be a rough summary of the content included. So something like “new area to explore, two new weapons and new enemies”, and the name of the DLC can be changed closer to the time if the developer wants.

“By offering a Season Pass, you are promising future content,” Valve explained of the new policy. “In the process of launching a Season Pass, you will be asked to commit to a release schedule for each content release in the Season Pass. That release timing is a commitment for both customers and Steam.

“If you are not ready to clearly communicate about the content included in each DLC AND when each DLC will be ready for release, you should not offer a Season Pass on Steam. Selling a Season Pass has risks; since you are promising the release of future content, you must commit to completing that content on time.”

There’s one more noteworthy aspect of the policy for players: what happens if a developer has to postpone or cancel DLC included in a Season Pass you purchased? Well, if this happens “just once during the Season Pass,” developers can “choose a new date up to three months after what you originally selected,” but any longer than that, and they’ll have to contact Valve.

Meanwhile, canceling DLC ​​on a Season Pass you’ve purchased will result in you being “offered a refund for the value of the unreleased DLC,” and the policy page will provide more information on how it works if you want to know the nitty-gritty. affair. gritty details.

So there you have it. What do you think of this new Season Pass policy? Do you think it will make you feel more comfortable buying Season Passes? Let us know below?