Battle passes and season passes
Kai's Garden Pass idea
Kai has an idea for Garden Defense: a Garden Pass. Each season, players climb 50 tiers of rewards just by playing. Some rewards are free for everyone, and more unlock for players who buy the pass.
Many big live games sell something like this, usually called a battle pass. Before the team says yes, we need to know how it works, why studios love it, and where it can turn unfair.
How a battle pass works
A battle pass is a ladder of rewards that players climb during a season. Picture two rows of prizes side by side:
- A season clockEach pass lasts one season, often a few weeks to a few months, with a fixed end date. Then a new pass starts.
- XP and tiersPlaying earns XP (experience points) for things like finishing waves. Every 1,000 XP, say, climbs one tier.
- The free trackA row of rewards every player collects at certain tiers, without paying.
- The paid trackA second row of rewards on the same tiers, unlocked by buying that season's pass.
Tier maths
1Garden Pass, season 1 (draft)2Season length 56 days3Tiers 504XP per tier 1,0005XP from a normal day of play 1,200
Remy is tuning the pass. How many days of normal play does it take to reach tier 50, and is that fair?
- About 42 days, so a player can miss two weeks and still finish: fair
- About 21 days, so the pass is too easy to be worth anything
- About 70 days, longer than the season: only players who buy skips finish
Show the answer
About 42 days, so a player can miss two weeks and still finish: fair
50 tiers of 1,000 XP is 50,000 XP. At 1,200 XP a day that is about 42 days, inside a 56-day season, with two weeks spare for holidays and sick days.
Why studios like battle passes
- Predictable revenueOne-off purchases go up and down. A new pass every season gives players a regular reason to buy, so the studio can plan its money.
- Goals for playersFifty tiers is a long list of things to aim for. Players come back to see the next reward, which helps retention (the share of players who return).
- You see what you buyEvery reward is shown before paying. Unlike a loot box, there is no random prize: the price and the rewards are clear.
The fairness questions
- Fear of missing outFOMO is the worry of losing something forever. Rewards that vanish when the season ends can push players to play or pay out of worry, not fun (the Seasonal events lesson in Stage 9 has more).
- GrindGrind means repeating the same thing over and over just to progress. Too much XP per tier turns a pass into a daily chore.
- Paying to skip tiersMany passes sell tier skips. If the pass is tuned so most players can't finish in time, skips stop being a shortcut and become the plan.
- Time pressurePlayers have school, sports and family. A pass that needs hours every day pushes them to play more than they want, or to pay.
A battle pass can be a great deal or a quiet trap. The difference is in the tuning.
Quick check
If a pass is tuned so that most players can only finish it by buying tier skips, the skips are just a fair optional extra.
- True
- False
Show the answer
False
When the plan only works if players pay to skip, the skips are not optional at all. A fair pass can be finished in normal play, and skips are only for players who want to go faster.
Our rules for a fair pass
- Reachable in normal playTune it so a normal player finishes with time to spare, like 42 days of play in a 56-day season.
- No power for moneyIn any game with leaderboards or other players, the paid track gives cosmetics only: skins, themes, badges. Never stronger plants or ships.
- A clear end dateShow the real end date and time, in the player's own time zone, from day one.
- Earned items stayUnlocked rewards are the player's to keep after the season. Buy the pass late, and you still get the paid rewards for every tier already reached.
- A free track worth havingFree players get real rewards too, not leftovers.
Spot the problem
1GARDEN PASS, SEASON 2: SPRING BLOOM2Ends 31 May, 23:59 in your time zone3Free track: seeds, 3 badges, a flower pot4Paid track ($4.99): Sprig skins, garden themes5Paid tier 30: Thunder Sprinkler, +50% damage6Everything you unlock is yours to keep
Garden Defense has leaderboards. Which line of this pass screen breaks our fair pass rules?
- Line 2
- Line 4
- Line 5
- Line 6
Show the answer
Line 5
Line 5 sells power: paying players get a stronger sprinkler and climb the leaderboard with money, not skill. Swap it for a cosmetic, like a golden sprinkler skin. The other lines are what a fair pass looks like.
A season pass is something else
On PC and consoles, a season pass usually means paying in advance for a bundle of DLC (downloadable content: extra worlds, characters or stories for a game).
That is a promise, so Steam has rules at the time of writing. The pass must list every DLC with a description and expected timing, like a season and year. Usually at least one DLC must already be out. If a DLC is cancelled, buyers are offered a refund for its value, and long delays can lead Valve to stop sales or offer refunds.
Bolt says: If Hyper Shards ever sells a season pass, we sell it only once the content is nearly done. Never sell a promise you might not keep.
Kids, spending, and what is next
A battle pass is often one purchase per season, but every season brings a new one, and some games sell it as a subscription that renews by itself. That adds up.
In a game kids play, a parent approves every purchase (family settings like Apple's Ask to Buy, from the in-game purchases lesson), prices are shown in real money, and nothing nags. Our plan: Garden Defense starts with a free Garden Pass for everyone, and adds a cosmetic paid track only once the free one feels great.
Bolt says: Next lesson: dark patterns, the design tricks that push people to pay, and how to spot them as a studio and as a player.
Fact-checked 9 October 2026
- Steamworks: season passes partner.steamgames.com
- EU CPC: key principles on in-game virtual currencies commission.europa.eu