Meta Pass: A New Systems Paradigm for Live Games

As I perceive the world from a systems point of view, the Battle Pass is never the endgame. It’s a gateway to wider innovation. Yet somehow, it is stuck — treated by everyone as if it is the endgame.

I believe we can do better through opening more layers for systems-wide interconnectivity, through a new design paradigm for live games.

Note: Readers should keep in mind that this article can be interpreted in several ways. On one hand, it explores the next systems-level evolution by positioning a Pass System, or Pass-like System, as a “centerpiece” for how live games could evolve — leveraging what works in Battle Passes and taking it further. On the other hand, the Meta Pass discussion here is primarily a form of “theory crafting,” intended to highlight new ways of designing live games through deeper, more meaningful systems-level interconnectivity. Reading and interpreting requires meta.

From Battle Pass to Meta Pass: The Evolution of Progression Layers

The Battle Pass (along with Event Passes and their equivalents) is an elegant solution to a specific moment in F2P design: how to keep players engaged in a live service economy without relying entirely on generic systems like loot boxes or basic reward vectors. It works because it is simple. You play, you level up, and you unlock rewards. Players understand it, and studios can build live ops around it with predictable cadence and monetization.

Battle Pass’ strength, a clear, time-boxed progression track with visible rewards, addresses short-term engagement needs. But it’s still a short-term cycle; one that players repeat season after season, or experience in parallel as developers stack multiple Passes together. In that sense, the system has solved short-term engagement by building a repeatable loop for long-term engagement — which is, to be fair, a perfectly valid and often effective strategy.

But can we build something that tackles mid- to long-term engagement in a deeper way? I believe we can.

Meta Pass

Across genres, I see space for what I call the Meta Pass; a progression system that isn’t just another layer or a cosmetic reskin of the Battle Pass. Instead, it’s a way of layering and/or interconnecting progression across multiple dimensions of a game, creating a sense of permanence and compounding “mastery” (/compounding effect, or compounding equity building) that the original Battle Pass was never designed to deliver as a standalone system.

In practice, even sounding as a single system; it’s not just a single Pass System in all cases. It most often calls out for a new design paradigm in how we perceive and design live games.

What is Meta Pass All About?

The Meta Pass is not about stacking more Passes on top of each other. It’s about building a progression ecosystem within the game itself, one that e.g., ties together seasonal loops, evergreen mastery, player equity increase, and the meta economy that develops over time.

For example, think about an extraction shooter where your Meta Pass runs e.g., alongside a mastery path for weapons, a reputation system, and a persistent collection layer tied to your account. Each system feeds into the others, creating a sense of both short-term momentum and long-term investment. You are no longer playing for just this season’s rewards, as you would normally do through regular Battle Pass. You are building a legacy inside that game through interconnections.

In a 4X strategy game, the Meta Pass could emerge naturally from the systems already in place. Seasonal events reward tactical engagement in the moment, but long-term research trees, diplomacy standings, and historical achievements stack to create a deeper “arc” of progression. The key is that each layer informs the others, and players feel that their time is never wasted, even if they take a break between seasons.

Systemic Shift in Design with Meta Pass

The move from single Battle Pass system to Meta Pass requires a broader shift in how we design progression with live ops in mind.

The Battle Pass is transactional. Play matches, earn XP, get rewards. The Meta Pass is relational. It understands that players engage with games at multiple depths and across multiple time horizons; and it builds its Pass and cyclical systems around this compounding interconnectivity, resulting into a wider ecosystem of its own.

For action RPGs, this could mean in simple terms seasonal ladders feeding into permanent account-bound mastery systems. For MMORPGs, it can about layering horizontal progression; crafting, housing, and social prestige, alongside vertical power climbs. In extraction shooters, it might look like persistent progression / rewards systems, reputation systems, or even player-driven core (micro) economies that survive seasons.

What unifies these approaches is that they create a sense of compounding effects (/equity / identity) instead of just basic accumulating rewards through reward unlocks. Your profile in the game stops being a snapshot of your cyclical history and starts becoming a reflection of your entire journey. That deepens the emotional connection players have with the game and gives designers far more levers for meaningful engagement.

How a Meta Pass Lives in Systemic Interconnectivity

The real power of a Meta Pass emerges not from its rewards alone, but from how it lives inside the game’s systemic fabric. It is not a standalone ladder that players climb in isolation. Instead, it is woven into the loops, layers, and vectors of progression that define the game. For example, seasonal events, mastery paths, reputation systems, and collection layers all feed into each other, giving players a sense that every action — from completing a short-term quest to mastering a complex system — contributes to a broader, ongoing journey.

A well-designed Meta Pass doesn’t need to enforce a single way to progress. It can flexibly accommodate both a free track and a paid track, allowing players to engage at their own pace. The free track ensures accessibility and broad participation, reinforcing intrinsic engagement. The paid track, whether structured as a subscription, premium Pass, or optional purchase, offers e.g., additional opportunities, expression possibilities, and/or progression paths, but never at the expense of the game’s systemic integrity.

Designers can also choose to make passes earnable through gameplay, if fitted for the business case. For example, players might unlock the premium pass via extended play, completing specific milestones, participating in seasonal challenges, and/or accumulating certain currencies for that. This approach respects players’ time and commitment, reinforcing the idea that progression is a holistic system rather than a purely transactional one.

Ultimately, the Meta Pass is not just a reward ladder; it is a binding agent, linking disparate progression systems into a coherent experience. When done right, it gives players the feeling that every interaction, every session, and every season contributes meaningfully to their evolving identity within the game.

The Balance Challenge

It should go without saying, that layering progression and/or systems (even accidentally, which this type of paradigm can cause) comes with its own risks. The Meta Pass is not just “more progression layered.” Done poorly, it collapses under its own weight. Systems bloat.

The sense of clarity that makes the traditional Battle Pass system so successful can get lost. The craft here lies in restraint, and not really in layering.

The most successful future implementations of the Meta Pass will feel organic because they grow from the core loops of the game (which, again, calls for a new design paradigm for perceiving and designing games with this in mind).

In ARPGs, those loops are about loot, builds, and mastery. In 4X games, they’re about expansion, optimization, and meta-strategy. When the progression systems align with those core motivations, they reinforce the fantasy instead of fighting it. And, from the systems point of view, there’s a clear red line to follow and go through, instead of created systemic chaos.

Looking Ahead

The Battle Pass solved the problem of engagement in a single slice of time. The Meta Pass solves the problem of continuity. At its core, it acknowledges that players don’t want to start over every season. They want their time to matter, to build toward something that persists beyond the current patch or meta.

As games lean more heavily into systemic design, especially in genres where complexity and depth are strengths, the Meta Pass can become less of an experiment and more of an expectation over time. The studios that get this right will be the ones that treat progression not as a monetization mechanic but as the scaffolding for a living, breathing world where every session, every decision, and every season leaves a lasting mark.

Who is already building something like this? Are you ready to level up your game?