Callisto Protocol Shows That We Need To Retire The Use Of Season Passes

Studio founder Glen Schofield confirmed that development on DLC hasn’t even begun as the game’s release approaches, and is instead a reaction to player demand for gorier executions and gnarly violence. That’s a huge relief, but still hasn’t stopped a number of think pieces from crawling out of the woodwork that misunderstand how games are made and the production pipeline that comes with post-launch content.

It isn’t exactly a priority for the team, even if the idea of new animations for a single player experience that many will have finished before they even come out is a weird move in itself. It doesn’t cross an ethical line or screw anyone over, but is par for a course that for decades now has traded in optional content for extra pennies

[shinoff2183]

I really dislike dlc still. Just use those resources for another game. I do miss the days when games were just complete at release.

[Binarycode]

Totally agree.

[CorndogBurglar]

I agree. I will say that I don't mind when a complete game is released, and then after the fact they make a DLC expansion. That doesn't really bother me quite so much. But leaving content off the disc to sell separately later is really annoying.

[shinoff2183]

As someone who collects and keeps physical games, it blows at times. As much as love some fallout and I did like the dlcs dont get me wrong but ive bought all 3 newer ones and re bought the goty editions. Fallout 3 and new vegas and 4 was a voucher(which defeated the purpose for rebuying it in my case) others out there also, xcom games another favorite got re bought due to dlc atleast it was on disc. Now I know I have a choice to buy or not to buy but its just annoying. You see where im going with this lol. Some dlc imo is just wasteful like clothes and such.

[HyperMoused]

Just imagine kids nowadays done even know what a full game is on release, i remember the good old days of goldeneye and perfect dark, you unlocked things by going through the game on harder difficulties and in certain times etc.now its just DLC or pre order bonus.

[Chevalier]

Last time I got a complete fighting game with all the characters was the PS2. Since then each generation the characters get fewer and the DLC 'season passes' grow more and more. Colour schemes cost money. Remember when you could make a bunch of edits in say Guilty Gear? Nope cost money now.

[curtain_swoosh]

i dont mind dlc for cosmetic purposes or new game stages, but i hate relevant story dlcs.

like wat the fuck lol

[hotnickles]

Holy crap this is coming out on Friday??? Let’s go! Why was I thinking next year?

[obidanshinobi]

Maybe you were thinking of the Dead Space remake.

[hotnickles]

You’re right. Hell yeah.

[hotnickles]

Article is wrong btw. It says “coming out in a few weeks” I perked up and said oh snap. Then I looked and found out Friday 😂 I said F yeah out loud.

[ufo8mycat]

Its fine when content is developed AFTER release of the game, but when content, in the case of Callisto Protocol, where death animations were made DURING the development of the game but were deliberately excluded to add as DLC later, is no excuses for that

[CrimsonWing69]

I don't want to be that guy, but can you link me to the information where these death animations were made DURING the development of the game? Because the actual developer said they haven't even started work on the season pass content, yet.

[Stanjara]

Yet you can buy it

[CrimsonWing69]

@Stanjara

Or choose not to 🤷‍♂️

I feel like a lot of games let you buy the season pass before the content is available.

You have options.

[erogers12]

Yeah, this isn't true. The developer hasn't begun work on the DLC yet, and Glen Schofield released a statement where he DIRECTLY stated that zero content was excluded during development for the purpose of DLC later on. This is misinformation.

[CrimsonWing69]

You know what's funny in all this? I guarantee you nobody will bad mouth Elden Ring's DLC when it comes out.

I read we get various modes in the Callisto DLC, story content, all new death animations, etc. I mean, I'm down to give the developers a little more money if the game is as amazing as I think it'll be.

If not, I just won't buy the Season Pass. It's as simple as that.

[Christopher]

The tweet from Schofield literally says this is false. They aren't saving "deaths" for DLC but will be making "EVEN MORE deaths." He's also saying they haven't even begun work on that and are focusing on the game currently, not future content.

https://twitter.com/GlenSch...

IGN even deleted their tweets about this after he said the above and updated their own article https://www.ign.com/article...

Anyone upvoting your comment is relying on false information and is only helping to spreading false information.

[JEECE]

Lol this lie about death animations will be part of the narrative of this game years from now. Once the games community convinces itself that a dev lied about a game or withheld something from the audience at release, no amount of evidence to the contrary will ever change the narrative. Look at No Man's Sky-to this day, people still "dunk" on Hello Games because NMS didn't have Destiny-style co-op at launch. It doesn't matter if you point them to an article from a year and half before launch where the devs explained that wouldn't be part of the game, they'll still repeat the "dunk" as an example of devs lying.

[Vengeance1138]

There will always be a place for DLC, right after you playthrough and complete a truly masterful game and you just want more and don't want to wait 4-5yrs for the sequel, buy the DLC and keep the amazing journey going if even for a short while.
The issue is not that DLC exists, its that most companies don't do DLC right. Such is why just the mere mention of DLC triggers people.

[HyperMoused]

This game having a season pass and being a SP game is the reason i am not rushing out to buy this game, plenty of other things to play atm and i dont like supporting that model, i know im the minority here, but ill get it on sale later.

[TheEnigma313]

Get the GotY version a few years later

[Elda]

I don't buy season passes beforehand until all dlc is released then I may buy the season pass which by then it's usually at reduced price.

[IanTH]

We should never aim to completely remove options. I think it's all case-by-case; sometimes it is more great stuff you wouldn't have otherwise gotten. Sometimes - sadly most of the time - it tends to be weaker & easily skippable.

✂️ In terms of "selling cut content"✂️:

I think we can get too hung up on when stuff starts getting made. Sometimes the low-effort cut content happens, and its obvious. But in plenty of other cases they hire extra people & increase budget to add these things, which also helps it so post-release content doesn't come out like 6 months after the game ships. It's sensible & pragmatic, but it all comes down to if we trust devs/pubs at their word. Ultimately, just gotta look at the value of each thing individually.

📀To the "in my day, it was all on the disc!" mindset📀:

I play & collect older retro games, & I think people tend to not account for what new games are compared to what we used to get, having not played retro stuff in a while. Don't misunderstand, plenty of newer games do cashgrab garbage that would have previously been included bonuses in the old days. But a lot of times? On average, we're getting a lot more content, larger worlds, more variety, at higher fidelity than we ever did back then.

💲🕕And if you want the complete package for one price?🕕💲

Simply wait. We've all got backlogs a mile long. You can get a content full, patched experience just like the good ol' days, you just gotta pretend the game releases like 6 months after it actually does & buy it then lol. Not a fair solution in all cases, but one certainly availalble if you have the patience.

[HyperMoused]

People arent complaining about not getting all the game on one disc they are complaining that the the story is already been broken up and sold back as DLC. The other argument is they had the main story and then thought up more story to add later, except its not later its not even out yet and there is add ons.

wait for the one price...games used to be just 'this is the game', now its season pass its DLC its in game currency its multiple editions...defending this crap is just silly it takes advantage of the people buying the game why defend these shoddy business practices, which only hurts you in the end.

[IanTH]

Not sure where you get that I'm defending it - in some cases I am, but you make it sound like I'm doing it across the board, which I hoped was clear. I suppose it was not. For reference, I don't buy hardly any DLC, & I also railed against raising the base price for games this gen. There's a lot these companies do that I don't support. Hell, I advised skipping most DLC across the board.

In effort to be clearer, I was primarily trying to say that not all things are black and white. That removing an option full-stop doesn't really feel like the best solution overall. And as I said later, look at each thing individually.

Sometimes they are worse - as I acknowledge and point out. Sometimes they are not. My comments are more specifically aimed at games in general, not this game specifically. If the story has been broken up in this game, that's an issue. I feel like you're speaking generally as well, but are focusing only on DLC as a worst case. And when they are, I obviously don't support it.

I even say "not a fair solution in all cases" regarding the wait for the price down the line comment. It's simply an option, is all, and with the way prices fall these days it can be greater value than gaming in the past ever could be.

I just think there are times where DLC has been a benefit, getting more game for a game you like than we would have were it not an option. I just don't exactly want to paint it all as bad. Shit like the "pay for your XP boost" in AC:O is trash garbage across the board. Plenty of season passes are filled with maybe 1 decent thing, then padded out with garbage to make it look worth more than it is. That's shit I'm against.

I feel like you're looking at anything I say that isn't a negative and assuming I'm defending everything. I'm just saying it's not always doom and gloom. There are even ways to get things like they were, and that's not even considering looking towards indie games. Just gotta use sound judgement and vote with your wallet.

[Profchaos]

I agree with the article the language needs to change.

This game will have a sizable story DLC pack post launch to me that's what DLC should be. Like GTA IV and it's tbogt/tlad or rdr with undead nightmare.
Story DLC should and can be incredibly well done.

Everyone right now however is to busy focusing on new death animations where as you would get things like this in other story DLC games all the time it just wouldn't be dot pointed to go back to the gta DLC example new radio tracks were integrated into the original game if you brought the DLC

[AuraAbjure]

I like DLC. I think it can be executed in a proper way i.e. proper pricing and timing and ACCESSIBILITY. Don't forget ACCESSIBILITY. I'm looking at you Battlefield Hardline and Halo 4. Those two games dropped DLC that was effectively inaccessible to the vast majority of players because of how it was implemented.

New Hardline multiplayer DLC for 10 bucks? Well suck it, because almost nobody can even play it considering there's only one joinable server!

New Halo 4 multiplayer DLC for 10 bucks? Have fun getting ripped off, considering the multiplayer maps never seem to come up during matchmaking, and there's conspicuously NO dedicated DLC playlist!

[Stanjara]

Absolutely! This season pass in a single player game is bs.

[GoodGuy09]

Season passes are and have always been a scam especially sketchy ones that don't exactly tell you what you get and when. When they already have your money, they don't really need to commit to making quality content either so these can be really half baked. Day one DLCs are even worse when obviously it was cut from the game just to make some more money. Cosmetc and boosters as well are rediculous.

The only DLCs that I ever accept and would buy are expansions that are full of content and priced fair and are well after the release of the base game, as well as only being developed after finishing development of the base game. Witcher, bloodborne, monster hunter world/rise are great examples.

[LoveSpuds]

As others have expressed, I don't have a problem with content releasing months down the line but it seems really unacceptable when a game launches and there is already content available to purchase. Its really unlikely that this content was made via a completely separate worksteam from the outset. It is clearly content that was simply held back from releasing with the main game.

Greasy as fuck in my opinion.

[tagzskie]

i dont like season passes on single player games so im gonna wait for complete edition and 50% off..

[jznrpg]

Yes yes yes .

[MADGameR]

Yea I hate DLC too.