Does the whole Season Pass culture need a massive shakeup?

I’m a massive gamer who will quite happily open my wallet for any type of game. Whilst my heart lays in the single player scene, I do on a fairly regular basis delve into the murky online world. In fact, if you give me the chance to play a game, I would quite possibly have played it already.

One thing I very rarely find myself doing though is partaking in a bit of Season Pass purchasing. There are a few reasons for this: there aren’t an awful lot of titles I’ll still be playing a year down the line, and on the whole, the extra multiplayer content that the majority of Season Passes contain have little appeal to me. I’m not one who bothers about having an extra five cars in a racing garage that is already bursting at the seams and new costumes, weapons and colourful skins that seem to come along at a frequent pace garner little enthusiasm.

You see, what I want from my Season Pass, and the downloadable content structure as a whole, is new single player content that I can get my teeth into. I want more missions and objectives, I want more collectibles to hunt down and I want to further the story that pushes a game along.

What I don’t want though is that content dripped out at three month intervals over the course of a year. I want it now and I want it within a few weeks of launch, because that is when I’m interested in a game.

I understand many will be horrified by that thought and will no doubt point to the fact that if content can be thrown out that quickly then it should already be in place as part of the base game. And that would in fact be preferable, but because the whole culture surrounding season passes is firmly entrenched in the gaming world, the complete and utter removal of such a profitable feature is never going to happen. No matter how much we wish it could be.

However, for it to be more profitable –  both in cash terms to the devs and in enjoyment factor for the gamer – then a quicker launch and turnaround of content is needed. I know I for one would purchase a far sight more if that was case. Take Watch Dogs 2 for example. I’ve held back from having the Season Pass because I care little for some new clothes. If however Ubisoft had put in more landmark shots for me to worry about, then I’d be there like a shot. Just think how much longer I’d be spending time in San Francisco if that were the case.

Perhaps it’s even time for companies to dip their toe into the water and offer two passes… one containing single player content, with the other focusing exclusively on the multiplayer side. This would give gamers the chance to choose between the two, possibly even purchasing both if the price is right. It would no doubt only work if the current pricing structure was halved at least, but whether or not any game developer would even consider doubling their workload for the possibility of smaller return is debatable. But then, perhaps it would help them really push that extra mile to deliver further content that just has to be purchased…and that they can be proud of. Seriously, they must get off on the fact that their in depth objectives are loved by many gamers, but I’m not sure they could ever feel as much love over a hat or camo costume.

The alternative to all of this obviously is to scrap the Season Pass culture altogether, ensuring that all content is delivered as a game is launched. With the amount of cash involved in the additional purchases that are made, I’m afraid this would never happen, but would an extra fiver on top of the standard game price really be too much to ask? I for one would happily drop the extra dough in the knowledge that extra content – extra content that actually brings something decent to the table – will already be included.

Personally, I’d love to see a full on shake up happen and my preference would be heading towards on the side of two separate passes. But then perhaps that’s because the selfish side of me wants more single player content in my life. If that costs me more money in the long run, then so be it. I’m happy to pay for quality and would wholeheartedly embrace any change.