Gamers say the battle pass has 'ruined the gaming world forever

Gamers say that the battle pass system has ‘ruined the gaming world forever’. However, are they not wrong?

It’s an age-old question, has the likes of battle and season passes ruined gaming? Well, I suppose that might depend on who you might ask. That’s the topic of discussion on Reddit right now.

“The concept of a battle pass has ruined the gaming world forever,” suggests Reddit user utkarsh_aryan. The Reddit user makes the point that when a video game was bought back in the day, it would be a complete package with no updates, no DLC, tons of unlockables and more.

It seems that much of the Reddit thread is in agreement with comments such as: “Reading the booklet on the way home after buying a new game,” which used to be a highlight for Ughkakis. “Does anyone remember TimeSplitters 2? So many unlockable characters in that. Now we get 1% of that level of content for free on game release,” said iiNexius,

However, Reddit user RegalBeagleKegals made the counter-argument: “If companies could've monetized fuckin everything 25 years ago, they would've.” To be fair, I wouldn't doubt that for even a split second.

To play devil’s advocate, I can see both sides of the argument. In the modern era of online connectivity, I can see why some believe that monetisation has ruined many aspects of gaming. Back in the day, it was great knowing that each unlockable content would be acquired in-game.

Whereas nowadays, while in-game unlockable content is still a thing, it’s certainly not as prominent as it once was. A reason for that is DLC which can be purchased online in-game within moments. Battle and season passes have opened the door to constant monetisation, to the extent that it might not ever go away.

Personally, I’m a fan of DLC. Yes back in the day you simply got the game that you paid for, and that was great. However, when it was done, it was done. No new content, no nothing.

What’s more, while some games are released in a poor state and then fixed later with patches, it can be seen as a pass for some studios to release unfinished games to meet a strict deadline.

Yet, buggy games were still a thing long before online connectivity was a common feature in video games. If you purchased a buggy game back in the day, you had two options, keep it or return it. I know some games have been released in an inexcusable state, but if a game launches with an unforeseen bug, at least that modern game can be fixed (mostly).

Don't get me wrong, I’m not one in total support of post-launch updates, season passes and battle passes. However, there’s a right way to go about things and there’s a bad way to go about things. How that aspect may differ will depend on the individual at hand.