Major Nelson says Season Pass DLC is ‘dangerous’ for multiplayer games

Multiplayer online shooters that lock some of their map content behind paywalls risk fragmenting their community.

That’s according to Microsoft’s Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hyrb, who in IGN’s latest Podcast Unlocked episode praised 343 Industries for making Halo 5’s post-release map downloads free to all players, GameSpot reports.

[DLC passes can be] really dangerous when it comes to multiplayer, because what happens is it fractures the community," he explained. "’You have the maps, I don’t have the maps, I didn’t buy that map but you bought that map,’ so when we all get together, ‘Oh, you couldn’t play.’

"So what 343 has done, which I think is rather brilliant, is that everybody gets the maps. But they’re going to make things up with the [microtransaction] Req packs. That’s how they’re having some additional revenue, I assume, on the side. It’s such a great way to execute it and keep the fans together."

Microsoft has previously said that its optional Halo 5 Req purchases, which Hyrb says are a deliberate substitute for premium map content, have generated in the region of over $1.5m.