Battle passes have become a staple of the games industry. Ever since Epic Games popularized them in Fortnite, allowing players to earn something extra for their time in the game regardless of their win rate, they’ve popped up in every major online game. From Rainbow Six Siege to Dead by Daylight, even unreleased games like Halo Infinite already have them in place. With this in mind, I think that it’s time someone mixed them up a bit.

We all know what we’re getting with a battle pass. There’s a free track that everyone can access. It offers a reward every few ranks, though none of them are that exciting. The only one worth chasing is rank 100, and even that is mired by the equivalent in the paid track. On the subject of the paid track, this is the only track that players truly care about. They can obtain some great-looking cosmetics through it, and all they have to do is play their favorite game. Upon reaching rank 100, they’re given the best cosmetic from the season, but they’ve also acquired all the ranks before as well as everything in the free track.

The tiny buy-in price is what hooks most players with a battle pass. For around $10, you get at least 100 new cosmetics for your game. That’s way more than any cosmetic bundle would give you, and it costs much less. However, it’s starting to get old. At this point, players know that they will have to play the game solidly for about three months to unlock everything they’ve paid for. It’s a huge commitment, especially if there’s a game that a player is excited about coming out in the middle of that three-month period.

That’s why I think there should be a bonus system with battle passes. Just like you can get NZ casino bonuses, battle passes should come with a guaranteed number of bonuses. When these bonuses drop is down to the player, though. Each one would be random, meaning that players might earn an extra rank or secret cosmetic if they play for just one more match. Developers could offer hints that tease players about how to get these bonuses. For example, playing three games might make it more likely to get a bonus, or playing a certain type of match as a specific character could do the same.

Using this method, players feel like there’s more value to their battle passes because they’re getting more than the standard 100 ranks of rewards. Developers can work the system to make players use a certain character or weapon more, allowing them together more data on them for future fixes, or just mix the season up a bit. By keeping players on their toes, everyone will benefit. Everyone loves a bonus, and when it’s a bonus you can go on to use in a game you’ll be playing in years to come, there’s really no downside. The better the bonuses, the more your player base will stick with the game, so it’s in the developer’s interest to make these as enticing as possible and give their communities something to really work towards.