Valve is implementing some new ground rules for how developers can offer Season Pass and DLC content on Steam, including rules aimed at cracking down on indefinite Season Pass delays, unfulfilled promises, and other issues that impact players.
Spotted yesterday by SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik, a new update to Steam's guidelines outlines what Season Passes are, how to implement them as a developer, and what requirements developers must meet in order to offer them for sale, including a rule about commiting to certain launch timings and prohibiting numerous or extremely long delays:
"By offering a Season Pass, you are promising future content," it reads. "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."
Specifically, Steam now requires developers include a complete list of all DLC included in a Season Pass, a basic description of the content included in each, an expected release window of at least the quarter or season and year expected. Additionally, developers are only allowed to self-reschedule their release date one time for the Season Pass, and only up to three months later than the original date. If developers want to delay additional times or delay further out, they have to speak with Valve first. If developers don't adhere to these rules, Valve says it may take action in ways such as removing the Season Pass from sale or refunding customers.
This is not a massive change on its face, as indefinitely delayed Season Passes aren't exactly a plague on Steam at the moment. But having these guidelines spelled out publicly offers some additional consumer protection as well as a transparency requirement that will let people know what they're actually buying, and when they should expect to receive it. In addition to these guidelines, the blog post also offers backend guidance that may be helpful to developers trying to set up Season Passes for the first time.
While this update is being well-received thus far, Valve is currently in hot water in the U.S. after a Senator called it out for not taking sufficient action against “hateful accounts and rhetoric proliferating on Steam.” The company is also dealing with leaks of upcoming hardware, including a Steam Controller 2 and a new VR controller.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
