Today we live in a world where technology is becoming more and more powerful by the day. This technological growth affects all aspects of the world, including the video game industry. WE are seeing video game consoles and Gaming Pc’s becoming far more powerful than we could have predicted. This is why the Gaming industry is thriving as well as it is today. Unfortunately, gaming developers are taking advantage of some of the capabilities that technology now allows. One of the most abused aspects of the technological application by video game developers is that implementation of video game season passes. While Season passes allow developers to extend the replay value of their games, not all companies seem to have this in mind when developing the content to be included with the purchase of a season pass.

One of the ways the implementation of season passes is being abused is the fact that Gaming developers seem to use them when they release “broken” or sometimes unplayable games. We are living in a generation of gaming where buying a game that does not work as advertised is becoming a trend. Developers knowingly release these “broken” games to the public knowing that they will just wait for the season pass content to be released to fix any major problems. These developers hardly ever compensate their consumer base as it would lose them money and as a result, more and more consumers are becoming hesitant on buying games when they are first released.

Season Passes also seem to show that Gaming developers are taking less pride in the games that they are producing. Before we had access to all the updates and season passes that we have today, what companies advertised was identical to the actual gameplay that gamers experienced. That is no longer the case thanks to the fact that most games now have a season pass. Now when companies develop their games they no longer have that drive to get all the good content out initially that existed before the season pass era. Now developers seem to initially release a bare skeleton of the game, saving all the good content for the season pass installations. What makes it even worse is the fact that many of the games with season passes have the season pass content already included in the game's code at launch with the season pass serving as a glorified unlock key to access the already existing content. Most gamers feel as if season passes should help further develop the games but instead it seems that gaming companies use them to hold the good video game content hostage.

Friction in the gaming industry is also being produced from season passes in the fact that games are no longer a flat rate. This is a huge deal because before the season passes consumers would go to their local game store, pay the $60 dollars for a game that they wanted and that was it. While games are still roughly $60 dollars, the season pass extends the price of games to around $100 dollars if you want to be able to play all the content of the game. Considering the current state of our economy, this is not ideal for a lot of gamers who want to be able to receive the full gaming experience of a game. While a lot of season passes allow you to buy individual game add-ons for around $14.99, gamers will have to pay the additional $50+ dollars on top of the initial $60 dollar game price to receive the full gaming experience for a particular game. What makes these additional costs even worse is the fact that a lot of the Season Passes don’t add a whole lot of actual gaming content and are becoming more centered around in-game accessories and cosmetic add-ons while adding just enough gameplay features to make the season pass appealing. This is why a lot of gamers are boycotting season passes as they are becoming an obvious developer money grab.

With technology allowing more capabilities in the gaming industry, video game season passes are becoming a huge concern to gamers. While most gamers give in and purchase the season pass to their favorite games, there is still a strain being put on the gaming industry that could be easily avoided. Hopefully, gaming developers will realize that season passes should be used as an opportunity to further develop their games and not as an opportunity to release the bare minimum and hold the good gaming content hostage.