Battle Passes (BP) are proliferating through the Battle Royale (BR) genre and starting to appear beyond that. This presents a new revenue stream to help fund further development while giving players a new option to earn rewards in an otherwise defeat-heavy genre. Each developer has their own take on the Battle Pass structure which pushes the needle between stick and carrot. Overall, I believe BPs can be a boon to developers and players alike if implemented with a player-centric mindset.
BPs are limited-time tickets that unlock rewards upon leveling up. Players can level up a BP by playing the game and/or using boosters via premium currency. The humble origins of the BP start at Dota 2 with the season pass in 2013. The focus back then was to get as many buy-ins as possible to unlock rewards for all investors. As time progressed, the focus became player retention which resulted in more individual rewards, faster unlocks, and re-branding from “Compendium” to “Battle Pass” starting in 2016. Fortnite picked up the torch in 2017 by releasing their own BP to massive success that inspired other BR titles and Rocket League to create their own. For the purposes of this writing, we’ll focus on the BR genre.
Developers use BPs to help fund further development and give players a more rewarding experience in a genre filled with defeat. The core loop of a BR match is as follows: a large group of players enter one large arena and eliminate each other until 1 player (or team) remains. The likelihood of victory, let alone consistent wins, is often low unless you’re a highly skilled player. To soften the blow of frequent defeat, BPs may introduce sub-objectives to give players respite when seeing yet another pink bear perform the Floss over their corpse. Fortnite: Battle Royale, the free-to-play mode in Fortnite, made an estimated $2.4 billion in 2018 with 34% of US players having purchased a BP. Other studios have seen varying levels of success based on the offerings and sense of progression.
Each developer has their own take on the BP structure which pushes the needle between showering players with rewards and becoming a soul-crushing grind for mediocre loot. Apex Legends recently released their version that rewards players with titles/trackers, skins for specific characters, weapon skins, in-game currency, and loot boxes of guaranteed rarity. Although they added rewards, the character specific rewards are thrust upon the player without caring who they favor. That’s not to say players are ungrateful in this situation for being disappointed with a reward or developers are pigeonholing players into getting more loot boxes through their reward unlock structure. Instead, a happy medium could be had if a voucher was given for character specific items. For example, replace the character specific skin unlock of Epic rarity with an Epic character skin voucher. The player has more agency and still has the desire to get the next hot item. Respawn also didn’t include play variety through challenges to help reach said rewards quicker which I believe exacerbated their pre-existing progression issue. This was also the case in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Respawn’s attempt at a BP was received poorly, but I’m excited to see how they adapt to please their audience.
Fortnite and PUBG share many similarities in their BPs, but Fortnite goes the extra mile through creativity of challenges. PUBG’s approach to challenges stays far within the realm the possibility. Challenges such as: Use a Medkit, Drive 10 vehicles, Play 3hrs on X map, etc., are good in adding more rewards to the core macro loop, but they don’t bring much new to said loop. Paid BP challenges are the same caliber with some more focus on getting kills with specific weapons. Fortnite surpasses this BP model by embracing the idea that winning the match isn’t everything.
Fortnite has a BP that stands out because it introduces new ways to play while still retaining extra rewards for the core loop. Some challenges focus on using healing items, getting kills, ranking high, while others focus on landing in specific locations, interacting with key objects, adding scavenger hunts, and other puzzles. Players who tire of the main goal for one reason or another can now focus on micro goals to get the dopamine rush that comes along with accomplishment. Adding challenges that bring new, varied gameplay helps to satisfy all players regardless of skill level because it helps to make the match loop more appealing. The progression system for this BP is the best I’ve experienced out any so far (in/out of the BR) and it’s very straight forward. Players have to collect 10 stars to unlock the next tier of their BP. Players are rewarded differing amounts of stars based on the challenged completed. Finding all 10 snowmen across the map over the course of 5 matches will net the player 10 stars compared to getting 3 headshots which rewards 5 stars. PUBG’s challenges reward xp towards the event pass similar to how stars work here. Alongside the free/premium BP challenges in Fortnite, there are free daily challenges that provide the player with even more opportunity to earn towards the BP or buying a BP through in-game currency unlocks. If BPs are going to further expand across video games I can only hope they head in this direction.
There is no exact BP structure/formula that one can replicate for guaranteed success, but there are general guidelines to follow for better player reception. Having a separate or overlayed experience system for BPs provides the player with a new and better sense of progression if the developer provides challenges that boost players toward unlocks. Making challenges about playing the game conventionally and, more importantly, non-conventionally. Giving players more agency without sacrificing reward in character specific loot situations. When your BP brings more fun to the game, it’ll bring more players to yours.
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