Battle pass
In the video game industry, a battle pass or rewards track is a type of
Battle passes may be given different terms depending on the game. For example,
Concept
A battle pass may be offered free to a player, or may require the player to purchase it through
Battle passes and the rewards contained are only available for a limited time, most commonly a few months, after which a new season battle pass, with a new set of rewards, is available to be acquired. Most battle pass items are unobtainable after the season ends.[4] This limited availability feeds into the psychological phenomenon of fear of missing out (FOMO), that a player, knowing certain rewards will only be available for a limited time, will be driven to buy and complete the battle pass to assure they have obtained the limited rewards in time, bringing more revenue to the game.[6] To this end, a battle pass's progression towards rewards has to be balanced against expected gameplay time and what gameplay elements contribute towards this to avoid making the progression feel like grinding. For example, Halo Infinite's multiplayer debuted with a battle pass that was criticized for being too slow in progression, which developer 343 Industries stated they would observe and balance in the future.[7]
History
One of the first known examples of a battle pass concept was seen in
The popularity of these passes grew significantly in 2018 with the use in Epic Games' Fortnite Battle Royale. Its runaway success on a scale rarely seen before drew great interest towards its monetization methods. The free-to-play game adopted a "season"-driven release schedule, each season lasting about 10-20 weeks, during which a new set of cosmetic items and emotes were offered, with those from the previous pass becoming permanently unobtainable. The newly coined "Battle Pass" was added starting in its second season, during a time when the game was seeing a large growth in its player base and has been used by the game since.[14] Battle passes are purchased through an in-game currency called V-Bucks, which either must be purchased with real-world funds via microtransactions, or earned via Fortnite: Save the World, as well as through the battle pass itself. Analyst Michael Pachter estimated that on the first day of the third season, in February 2018, Epic sold more than five million battle passes, generating over US$50 million in revenue in a single day.[15] With expansion of Fortnite to mobile devices in March 2018, revenue estimates from the game were in the hundreds of millions of dollars per month in the following months, primarily from battle pass sales.[16]
At the same time as Fortnite was becoming a success, the video game industry had been dealing with the issue of loot boxes, another monetization scheme where players spend funds to open boxes containing a random assortment of in-game items. In the late 2010s, loot boxes faced scrutiny from several government-related groups, believing they encouraged gambling, particularly for young players. Battle passes were then seen as a preferable option to loot boxes, as players would be able to see all the rewards they could earn, even if they needed to spend a great deal of time completing all the tiers, assuring players continued to play the game. Further, by offering the means for players to buy into completing tiers, publishers could also see additional revenue.[4]
Coupled with the success of Fortnite's battle pass approach and exhaustion over loot box controversies, other publishers started to evaluate battle pass use, with gaming journalists theorizing that games which formerly relied on loot boxes or worked
The debut of
References
- ^ Wright, Steven (June 19, 2018). "'Rocket League' Director Talks Rocket Pass, Loot Boxes, Bonuses and Penalties". Variety. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ Knezevic, Kevin. "PUBG's Fortnite-Style Event Pass Available Today With New Update". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ Jordan, Jon (July 2, 2018). "Why Fortnite's monetisation is easy to copy but its success hard to replicate". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Davenport, James (July 5, 2018). "Battle passes are replacing loot boxes, but they're not necessarily a better deal". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ^ Carter, Chris (March 26, 2018). "Fortnite loot box and Battle Pass beginner's guide". Polygon. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ "Do you buy battle passes, and do you complete them?". PC Gamer. August 5, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "Halo Infinite developers already reevaluating its stingy battle pass". Polygon. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ Van Allen, Eric (July 13, 2017). "How Exactly Does Dota 2 Come Up With Over $20 Million In Prizes For Its Biggest Event?". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (June 21, 2018). "Battle Passes Are So Hot Right Now". Kotaku. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Thursten, Chris (January 26, 2016). "The Winter Battle Pass is Valve's best Dota 2 event yet". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ Pereira, Chris. "Valve Overhauls Dota 2 Battle Pass With Subscription-Based Dota Plus". GameSpot. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ Wilson, Nick (July 2, 2015). "Team Fortress 2's Gun Mettle update adds CS:GO like weapon skins and campaigns". PCGamesN. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ Meija, Ozzie (January 24, 2019). "Here's Everything Featured in the Team Fortress 2 'Jungle Inferno' Update". Shacknews. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ Saed, Sherif (December 15, 2017). "Fortnite Battle Royale gets Dota 2-style Battle Pass, loads of new items". VG247. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
- GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- CNet. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ Ashley, Clayton (May 21, 2018). "What Fortnite's Battle Pass gets right". Polygon. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ "Battle Pass is a hot trend in mobile games - like it or not". GameRefinery. December 17, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ^ "Super Animal Royale Season 2 Start Date Announced". Twinfinite. December 2, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ Goslin, Austen (June 14, 2021). "Halo Infinite's battle passes will never expire". Polygon. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ Earle, Sharnelle (February 12, 2022). "Everything You Need To Know About Rival Incursion In Deep Rock Galactic". TheGamer. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ Wheeler, CJ (September 15, 2022). "Blizzard detail Overwatch 2's season one, and its controversial battle passes". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved September 15, 2022.