Over The Plop: Battlefield 1 DLC Season Pass Detailed

Battlefield 1 [official site] is launching an open beta test next week but nah, you don't want to hear about that. The full game's out in two months but nope, you don't want to know more about that either. I know you. The question on your lips is: "Can I buy DLC?"

Electronic Arts today announced the Battlefield 1 Premium Pass, saying that "for only $50" - only $50 extra! only! the cheek! - players can get four expansions, including new maps, new weapons, new vehicles, and French and Russian armies. You can even pre-order the DLC to go with your pre-ordered game.

Here's what will, over time, come with the £39.99/$49.99 Premium Pass:

· 4 upcoming digital expansion packs, including:
o Two-week early access to each expansion pack
o Play as new armies including France in Battlefield 1 They Shall Not Pass, and the Russian Empire in an upcoming expansion pack
o 16 new multiplayer maps
o New Operations and game modes for more ways to play
o New Elite classes
o 20 new weapons
o New vehicles
· 14 Battlefield 1 Battlepacks containing stand-out weapon skins, delivered monthly from November 2016
· 14 unique dog tags distributed over the course of the Battlefield 1 Premium Pass period

They Shall Not Pass will be the first expansion out, due in March 2017.

I realise I'm a creaking relic but I am still confused by publishers proudly announcing "Check out this load of cool stuff! It definitely WON'T be in the game! But you can get it eventually if you pay us 80% of the game's price again." Presumably enough folks do go for this for publishers to keep doing it, even if crones like me do find it a bit repulsive.

EA are announcing that they intend to keep multiplayer fresh for ages to sustain players and I can see why that may be comforting and pleasant for some people who intend to play a lot. But spending £40 on add-ons for a £50 game when it'll likely receive a brand new £50 sequel shortly after the final pack comes out, nah, it's not for me.

Not to mention that French and Russian armies were important enough to WW1 that charging for them is p. dang weird.