Irrational has announced that Bioshock Infinite will be getting a "Season Pass" option for its downloadable content. The pass will be available at the time of the game's launch of March 26, with holders receiving three packs of upcoming DLC.
Bioshock Infinite recently went gold, meaning the folks at Irrational have plenty of time to move on to additional content before the game hits stores. The idea of a "Season Pass" for this type of game was first pioneered by Rockstar's L.A. Noire in 2011. Recently, Gearbox has had some luck with Borderlands 2 passes, although in that case, the franchise already had a proven track record with releasing DLC.
The pass will run gamers $19.99/1600 MS points, and will also include the "Early Bird Special Pack," another bit of promotional content that will feature a pistol upgrade, a machine gun upgrade, gold skins for both weapons, five stat boosting infusion bottles, and four other pieces of gear.
With DLC regularly being priced in the range of $10 to $15 dollars each, the Season Pass seems like a great idea if you plan on purchasing all three packs on day one. However, it does seem like something of a gamble, considering any one or more of them could be a complete waste of time.
While I personally have faith that Irrational can produce some quality DLC, it does strike me as odd that a game like Bioshock Infinite would be so rife with these very unsubtle promotions. The Bioshock series has always tried to set a very serious and cerebral tone, and I can't help but feel that these rather obtuse attempts to sell unnecessary extras seems a bit crass.
Still, if you know you're going to end up buying all three DLC packs anyways, it definitely makes sense to go for the Season Pass option.