Seasons in Gaming: Why Live Service Models Dominate Modern Games

If you’ve played titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, or Apex Legends, you’ve probably heard about new “seasons” dropping every few months. But what exactly are these seasons, why do developers love them, and is this seasonal approach the future of gaming?

What Are Seasons in Gaming?

A season is a content cycle in a live service game, usually lasting between 8–12 weeks. Each season typically comes with:

• New content: maps, modes, weapons, or story updates.
• A battle pass: a tiered progression system where players unlock free and premium rewards by playing.
• Events and challenges: limited-time modes, collaborations, or cosmetic drops.

When one season ends, the next begins with a fresh set of content keeping the game from going stale and giving players a reason to return.

Why Developers Love Seasons

The seasonal model is not just about keeping players entertained, t’s a strategic business decision. Here’s why it’s so popular:

• Player Retention – With regular updates, players don’t drop off after a few weeks. They keep coming back to see what’s new.
• Steady Revenue – Instead of one-time sales, developers monetize through battle passes, skins, and seasonal bundles.
• Community Engagement – Seasons create hype. Everyone jumps back in when new content arrives, making it a shared experience.
• Ongoing Storytelling – Developers can drip-feed narrative updates, keeping the game world evolving.

How Much Money Do Seasons Generate?

The financial success of seasonal models is massive:

• Fortnite reportedly generated over $9 billion in its first two years, much of it from seasonal battle passes and cosmetics.
• Call of Duty: Warzone seasons have fueled billions in revenue for Activision through battle passes and premium bundles.
• Apex Legends and Valorant follow the same model, with steady earnings tied to their seasonal refresh cycles.

For developers, it’s a more predictable and sustainable way to make money than relying on a single launch.

Brand Collaborations Inside Seasons (COD × Squid Game and Beyond)

What they are: Seasonal collabs bring outside IP (shows, films, artists, anime) into the game via limited-time modes, operator/skin bundles, cosmetics, and themed challenges, usually tied to a battle pass or shop drop. A recent standout: Call of Duty × Squid Game hit Black Ops 6 and Warzone alongside Netflix’s Season 2, adding LTM modes, event rewards, and multiple bundles (Pink Guards, VIPs, Young-hee).

Why games do it (impact on developers/publishers):

• Engagement spikes: IP collabs reliably pull lapsed players back. Newzoo tracked an average +11% DAU lift in the first 7 days after collaboration launches across PC/console titles.
• Fresh content without full rebuilds: LTMs and cosmetic drops refresh the loop between seasons at relatively lower production risk.
• Monetisation: Themed bundles and battle-pass tie-ins convert hype into direct revenue while keeping the base game free/low cost. COD’s regular crossovers (e.g., Gundam, Nicki Minaj) show a repeatable template for cosmetics-driven spend.

Why brands do it (impact on IP owners/advertisers):

• Reach & demographics: AAA live-service games deliver massive, hard-to-buy audiences (teens/young adults) with interactive time-on-brand, not just impressions.
• Cultural relevance: Showing up in a top live service during a show/film release window (e.g., Squid Game S2) extends the marketing beat with playable moments, not only trailers.
• Attribution-friendly beats: Collabs can align to clear callouts (bundle sales, event participation, social UGC) to show impact beyond a standard media flight. Industry reporting consistently frames these as engagement and revenue catalysts for both sides.

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Notable examples to reference:

• Call of Duty × Squid Game (LTM modes + bundles across MP, Zombies, Warzone).
• Call of Duty × Gundam (three themed packs during MW3/Warzone S4).
• Call of Duty × Nicki Minaj (celebrity operator bundle).

Bottom line: In-season brand collabs are win-win: games get short-term engagement bumps and high-margin cosmetic sales, while brands get interactive reach and fandom energy timed to real-world releases.

Biggest Players in the Seasonal Model

Some of the top games driving this trend include:

• Fortnite (Epic Games) – Pioneer of the battle pass and seasonal storytelling.
• Call of Duty: Warzone & Modern Warfare II (Activision) – Huge player base, regular seasonal updates.
• Apex Legends (Respawn/EA) – Consistent new legends and maps each season.
• Valorant (Riot Games) – Episodes and Acts function like mini-seasons.
• Destiny 2 (Bungie) – Strong narrative-driven seasonal content.

Is This the Future of Gaming?

The live service seasonal model isn’t going away anytime soon. Traditional one-time purchase games still exist, but the biggest multiplayer titles are leaning heavily on seasonal content. It gives developers recurring revenue, and players get an ever-evolving game without needing to buy a sequel every year.

That said, some players criticize the model for creating “FOMO” (fear of missing out) and pushing aggressive monetization. Still, with billions in revenue at stake, the seasonal model looks like the dominant future for online multiplayer gaming.

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