Battle pass

These rewards are typically cosmetic in nature, such as character and weapon customization options (also known as "skins"), emotes, and other non-gameplay affecting elements.

[3] Experience is gained through normal gameplay, and often through in-game challenges, while some games offer a way to accelerate progression through a battle pass by using microtransactions.

For example, Halo Infinite's multiplayer debuted with a battle pass that was criticized for being too slow in progression, which developer 343 Industries stated they would observe and balance in the future.

[9][10] One of the first known examples of a battle pass concept was seen in Valve's Dota 2 during an event that surrounded The International 2013, the annual e-sports tournament for the game.

[11] Called the "Compendium", it provided unique in-game content and other features for those players that purchased it, with 25% of all revenue made from it going towards the prize pool for the event.

[4][12] In 2016, Valve included the Compendium into the larger International Battle Pass, and later introduced a monthly form of one with their Dota Plus subscription feature in 2018.

The campaign pass gave the player that purchased it a number of goals to complete during the event to receive unique customization options.

In the late 2010s, loot boxes faced scrutiny from several government-related groups, believing they encouraged gambling, particularly for young players.