I’ve had a lot of spare time recently, and I decided to play a game on my phone just for the hell of it. It was Uno, and to my surprise, it had a battle pass. I knew this practice was very common, but I never expected a simple card game like Uno to have one. This got me thinking.

The first time I saw a battle pass was in Fortnite, but I was relatively certain they weren’t the originators. So, I had a question: Where did the battle pass come from?

Although it’s tough to say which game was the first to implement it, most people agree that Dota 2 was one of the earliest adopters of the practice.

Starting in 2013, Dota 2 released its battle pass titled the “Interactive Compendium” during the annual International Tournament hosted by Valve. This was a far cry from the battle pass system we’re used to today, however, as most of the rewards were tied to a prize pool. The more people bought the battle pass, the more the prize pool would go up, meaning more rewards for the battle pass owners.

The practice wouldn’t become popular until 2017 when Fortnite launched the second season of their battle royale mode, along with the debut of their own battle pass. For 950 V-Bucks, the in-game currency of the game, you can purchase a battle pass or enjoy the free version. 1,000 V-Bucks cost $9, but the battle pass also rewards you with free V-Bucks every so often.

After this, the practice spread like wildfire, with games such as Apex Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Call of Duty incorporating their own battle passes.

Trends in video games come and go, but the battle pass, for better or worse, has remained a constant in the last several years.

Epilogue - 4 Years Later

I wrote that top half back in 2021, and it’s crazy to see that things haven’t changed much in the last 4 years. The battle pass system is still going strong, not as strong as it once was, but still a noticeable presence in the video game world.

Overwatch 2 Battle Pass

I’ve been playing a ton of Overwatch 2, like an unhealthy amount, and that game still has a battle pass. It costs 1,000 Overwatch coins to unlock all the rewards, which translates to $9.99. Is it worth it? To me, not really.

But maybe last season’s battle pass was better, or maybe the next season will be better. I don’t want to make an assumption based on one season; sometimes, some are better than others.

I will say this, though: the free version is pretty good. Gives you some free skins, coins, and a couple of loot boxes. So, the premium battle pass is nice, but it seems like a lot of players could be satisfied with just the free version.

Street Fighter 6 Battle Pass

Another game that I’ve been playing a lot is Street Fighter 6. This one does the battle pass a bit differently in that there are only 30 tiers, as opposed to Overwatch’s 80.

Another thing that sets the Street Fighter 6 battle pass apart is that it doesn’t feel essential like other ones. With others, you can get huge FOMO, but with this one, you can pretty comfortably skip it. Sure, some people might like the avatar customization gear, but it’s not for me.

You can buy it if you want, or you can completely skip over it, and it won’t impact your Street Fighter 6 experience.

Fortnite

Finally, let’s take a look at the game that popularized the battle pass, Fortnite. In these past few years, Fortnite has introduced 3 extra battle passes, for a total of 4: the Fortnite Battle Pass, the OG Pass, the LEGO Pass, and the Music Pass. Each of them is for a different game mode.

Another new feature that Fortnite introduced is the Fortnite Crew subscription service.

For $11.99 a month, here’s what comes in this service:

For a casual Fortnite player, this is most definitely not worth it. But if you’re a hardcore fan, I could see this being a good alternative. If you’re the type of person to buy at least two battle passes every month, then this is the obvious choice for you.

Where Does the Battle Pass Go From Here?

The battle pass system has survived much longer than I thought possible, and it’s interesting to see how it’s evolved. Some battle passes really prey on FOMO, some have become more casual, and one has even created a subscription service to bundle 4 different ones together.

In 5 years’ time, I wonder if the battle pass system will still exist, or if something else will have replaced it entirely.

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Feature image haphazardly made by me on Canva :)