Valve is implementing some new floor guidelines for the way builders can supply Season Pass and DLC content material on Steam, together with guidelines aimed toward cracking down on indefinite Season Pass delays, unfulfilled guarantees, and different points that affect gamers.
Spotted yesterday by SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik, a new update to Steam’s guidelines outlines what Season Passes are, the best way to implement them as a developer, and what necessities builders should meet to be able to supply them on the market, together with a rule about commiting to sure launch timings and prohibiting quite a few or extraordinarily lengthy delays:
“By providing a Season Pass, you might be promising future content material,” it reads. “In the method of launching a Season Pass you may be requested to decide to a launch timing for every content material launch within the Season Pass. That launch timing is a dedication to each prospects and Steam. If you are not prepared to obviously talk in regards to the content material included in every DLC AND when every DLC can be prepared for launch, you should not supply a Season Pass on Steam.”
Specifically, Steam now requires builders embody a whole listing of all DLC included in a Season Pass, a fundamental description of the content material included in every, an anticipated launch window of a minimum of the quarter or season and yr anticipated. Additionally, builders are solely allowed to self-reschedule their launch date one time for the Season Pass, and solely as much as three months later than the unique date. If builders wish to delay extra occasions or delay additional out, they’ve to talk with Valve first. If builders do not adhere to those guidelines, Valve says it might take motion in methods resembling eradicating the Season Pass from sale or refunding prospects.
This will not be a large change on its face, as indefinitely delayed Season Passes aren’t precisely a plague on Steam in the mean time. But having these pointers spelled out publicly presents some extra client safety in addition to a transparency requirement that may let individuals know what they’re really shopping for, and when they need to count on to obtain it. In addition to those pointers, the weblog publish additionally presents backend steerage that could be useful to builders attempting to arrange Season Passes for the primary time.
While this replace is being well-received to this point, Valve is presently in scorching water within the U.S. after a Senator referred to as it out for not taking adequate motion in opposition to “hateful accounts and rhetoric proliferating on Steam.” The firm can also be coping with leaks of upcoming {hardware}, together with a Steam Controller 2 and a brand new VR controller.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a narrative tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
