Naughty Dog has a new addition to its team in the form of Anders Howard, the person behind the Battle Pass progression strategy in Fortnite.
Howard’s previous role at Epic Games saw him working on 12 seasons of content for the Fortnite Battle Pass. He also had a significant impact on Rocket League and Fall Guys, where he introduced the Battle Pass progression.
Seemingly a master of monetizing the hottest new multiplayer games, Naughty Dog must be pleased with its decision to switch jobs. Now Howard will work for Naughty Dog as Chief Monetization Strategist from November 2022.
With an emphasis on us
There’s no direct confirmation that Howard is set to work on The Last of Us multiplayer. However, his role as chief monetization strategist and previous work on multiplayer games like Fornite point to more of this in his future.
Originally, when The Last of Us first launched on PS3 and then PS4, completing the main game would have unlocked the much-underrated multiplayer mode. This mode, called Factions, provides even more content to play after the events of the main story.
While this has not been added to Remake of The Last of Us Part 1many fans can’t wait faction return for the standalone multiplayer game Last of Us.
Last Battle Pass
Fortnite’s influence became clear as soon as almost every game studio seemed to add a Battle Royale element to their game; looking at you, Fallout 76: Nuclear Winter.
But Epic Games has had just as much of an impact on how games use battle passes to monetize their “free” multiplayer games.
Battle Passes quickly overtook microtransactions as the favorite way for studios in the industry to monetize as a tiered approach to in-game monetization. At the beginning of the season, you can purchase different levels of the Battle Pass, which will allow you to unlock a certain progression of in-game items. They’re all visible at the start of the season, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Battle Pass is seen as an ethical monetization option. Studios don’t have to worry about loot box gambling accusations, players seem to be getting more for their money, and it’s a stable and consistent form of income.
With all of that in mind, it makes sense that Naughty Dog wants to get on this trendy wagon. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Battle Passes are the future of multiplayer gaming.