In a move to make sure developers and publishers don’t stray from their promises and commitments when it comes to season passes, Steam is now toughening up its guidelines. Newly-spotted documentation from Valve outlines how season passes must give a release date to all DLC included, describe what’s in each piece of DLC, and much more.
A datamine from earlier this year hinted that such a change was coming to Valve’s storefront, and now its official Steamworks documentation – which is essentially a handbook for anyone wanting to list their content on Steam – has been updated with a new section dedicated to season passes. The brand new page clearly defines season passes as “a purchasable item of DLC with promise of future content to be delivered to customers, either as separate DLC releases, or as additional content unlocked within the base game.” Alongside some guidance on how to properly set up a season pass page on Steam, Valve issues several warnings and new rules about what’s needed in a season pass listing.
The first big one revolves around the release schedule for season pass content. “In the process of launching a Season Pass you will be asked to commit to a launch timing for each content release in the Season Pass. That launch timing is a commitment to both customers and Steam. If you aren’t ready to clearly communicate about the content included in each DLC AND when each DLC will be ready for launch, you shouldn’t offer a Season Pass on Steam,” it says.
In the new guidance, which was spotted by Pavel Djundik, the creator of tracking site SteamDB, Valve also lays out its expectations when it comes to release schedules. “Quarter and Year (i.e. January to March 2025) or Season/Year is acceptable. Of course, a date that’s more precise is also fine (i.e. June, 2025 or June 1st, 2025).” It also now asks that each piece of DLC content comes with a brief description of what’s included.
There is some wiggle room in that developers and publishers can “self-reschedule the release date one time only” if a piece of season pass content is going to be delayed. However, Valve also stipulates that they can only pick a new date that’s “up to 3 months later than you originally selected.”
It also says that if a piece of DLC intended to be released in a season pass is cancelled, customers will be offered a refund for the value of that individual piece of content. That refund promise may also apply if a piece of DLC content is delayed by more than that three-month threshold.
“Even if there has not yet been a customer complaint, Valve may take action if you delay a DLC more than a quarter (3 months) beyond the release window you originally promised. Actions include removing the Season Pass from sale on Steam, refunding all customers who purchased the Season Pass for the value of unreleased DLC, or allowing customers the option of refunding the entire Season Pass. For the purposes of refunds, the value of unreleased DLC will be decided in discussion with Valve.”
It’s fairly rare for pieces of DLC already promised in season passes to never see the light of day, but it is very reassuring to see Valve protecting against these situations. Plus, its forcefulness in holding release schedules to account is another positive step. You can read the full documentation on season passes here.
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