Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was not perfect, no game is, but it was well-received. The action RPG approach to the DBZ formula did a lot to relive the story but make it more engaging for those who have seen/played through it multiple times. However, its first Season Pass was a huge point of contention for fans of the franchise and the second Season Pass has to learn and grow from it, or risk struggling even more to retain its fan base.
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Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s Season Pass 2, Delays, and Communication
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot released in January 2020, but its final DLC would not release until midway through 2021. It has gone, since then, without DLC, and it will continue to do so for the entirety of 2022. That’s a big wait, which means DBZ: Kakarot already faces the uphill battle of getting fans to come back to the content for a single-player RPG. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is still getting characters and content updates, but fan engagement with a multiplayer, fighting game and a single-player RPG are two different beasts. A game releasing three DLCs over the span of a year and a half, going quiet for over a year, and then announcing DLC for the following year is a peculiar approach, to say the least.
Now, it should be addressed that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot launched at the height of the pandemic, and this indubitably impacted its ability to release its DLCs. But to make matters worse, CyberConnect2 and Bandai Namco never communicated much about any development issues. This resulted in players waiting a year and half for the entire Season Pass 1, with months of silence filling the time between. It wasn’t a great look then, but it would be worse for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot now, three years removed from the launch.
Players are already asked to wait until 2023 for this content, presumably meaning the first Bardock DLC is likely to release alongside Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s PS5 and Xbox Series X versions. However, if after this wait, the return to months of silence and scattered DLC drops remains present, it’s going to be a losing battle. Hopefully, the cadence or at least the communication is improved this time around.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now for Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It will release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.
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