Although Mario Kart 8 did have some DLC, it could be argued that Mario + Rabbids is the first Mario title to have a full blown season pass.But it's no surprise that it does, because it's a licensed game made by Ubisoft, so of course it has DLC and a season pass.
The season pass will go on sale on August 29 alongside the main game, and will have a price tag of $20. With it, you'll get yourself all upcoming DLC, including eight "exclusive steampunk weapons," new solo challenges and cooperative challenges that will be released this Fall and when 2018 rolls around, you can play through some new "unexpected" story content.
For starters, it's not clear why any season pass DLC would be "unexpected" -- surely Ubisoft expects it and now that it's been announced, fans will too? Steampunk weapons don't exactly sound like the kind of weapons Mario or Rabbids would use, but hey, this game isn't exactly your typical Nintendo title.
It's also important to note that Ubisoft promised some additional story DLC for Mass Effect: Andromeda and now is unlikely to follow through with that. It may stay committed to Mario + Rabbids even if it doesn't sell too well, but you can imagine Ubisoft not being too keen to keep up that promise if sales aren't great.
They probably will be, because this is a Mario game, even a licensed one, but it's still a bold strategy to announce DLC and a season pass for an unproven, new property like Kingdom Battle.
How do you guys feel about a Mario game like this having a season pass?