For gamers, season passes are nothing new. The idea of saving money on a set number of downloadable content updates became incredibly popular during the last console generation. It's an easy way for developers to guarantee that people would continue to play their game. After all, DLC can't be traded in for cash, and that means that players will typically hold onto the game instead of selling it back to a retailer.
Call of Duty was an early adopter of this strategy, and included a season pass with nearly every release during the past generation of hardware. For the last few years, Activision has even been announcing DLC before the game is finished. Some may believe that the studios are using somewhat shady business tactics, while others see it as guaranteed value for their purchase, and both sides have their share of arguments. This year, however, Activision seems to be doing things differently. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is still getting a season pass, make no mistake, but the wait for said content will be much shorter than usual.
In terms of overall content, Advanced Warfare's offerings are nothing too out of the ordinary. The season will be split into four separate bundles, and each will include a series of new maps (going by series tradition, there's likely to be three maps per pack). Purchasing the season pass also includes access to new weapons early; Activision hasn't offered any further details on either the maps or updated arsenal quite yet.
What is surprising is that, while owners usually have to wait several weeks or even months for new content, Advanced Warfare's season pass kicks in on Day 1. The map 'Atlas Gorge' will be available to all season pass owners right on launch day.
It's a pretty big departure for the studio, as Advanced Warfare will mark the first time that players have been given access to season pass material so early. However, while it seems like a nice gesture on Activision's part, the content is likely already on the disc, meaning that the content is actually available to all, just locked behind a price tag. Again, it's debatable as to whether or not content that's on the disc itself should be locked away, but at the very least, it looks like Activision simply wants to reward early adopters.
The map itself, as seen in the trailer, looks large by Call of Duty standards. The series typically focuses on tight corridors and close-quarters combat, and while such traditions are certainly present, there also seems to be a big focus on more open environments. On top of that, there's also a giant railgun sitting in the middle of the map just waiting for someone to take it over and dominate the map.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is just a week away: the game is set to hit store shelves on Nov. 4, and the first DLC pack (not including Atlas Gorge) is set to arrive January 2015.
Photo: Activision
