You should not pre-order the gamebut people do it all the time. People are also getting into the habit of pre-ordering DLC, paying upfront for content that won’t be delivered for months or even years (if ever). Valve is now cracking down on the whole thing, enacting stricter rules for companies selling everything from DLC packs to season passes.
steam More transparency is now needed Information about Season Pass and DLC content, including details on content and expected release dates. Anything that ends up being delayed may be eligible for a partial refund. “By offering a Season Pass, you are committing to future content,” reads the new guidelines for development partners. “During the process of activating the Season Pass, you will be asked to commit to a launch time for each content release in the Season Pass. This release time is a commitment to customers and Steam.
Steam added that while game development is complex and challenging and sometimes delays are necessary and understandable, the company can only reschedule the release of DLC and season passes once. “If you are not ready to clearly communicate what is included in each DLC and when each DLC will be ready for release, then you should not offer the Season Pass on Steam,” the company wrote.
Additionally, the Season Pass should include at least one piece of content that will already be accessible at launch, unless it’s for a currently unreleased game. Even if there are no customer complaints in a given case, Steam reserves the right to automatically issue refunds to any player who may be in violation of the new rules. If any DLC is canceled outright, players will have the “value of the unreleased DLC” refunded to their accounts, rather than relying on in-game currency or other compensation promised by the company.
It sounds like the section of the Steam store page below the buy button that lists all the microtransactions included in the game is going to become more confusing, but at least it will hopefully incentivize companies to be more conservative with their commitments and fees.
