So, yes. With all the tedious inevitability of an annual FIFA Soccer or Call of Duty reveal, the super-shock that is a new Battlefield instalment has been announced. In what is a curious twist, though, there’s nary a season pass in tow.

That’s right. It’s almost unheard of these days for a game to launch without any season pass shenanigans. Sometimes, the season pass is even available for pre-order before we’ve even got a solid release date for the title in question. A heavy-duty release without one? No way. A heavy-duty EA release without one? Double no way.

That seems to be the way, though. As Destructoid reports, EA have confirmed that the freshly-announced Battlefield V is not going to feature any sort of season pass. The company were probably torn, between their desire to nab themselves more ill-gotten cash to roll around in, Scrooge McDuck style, and their need to avoid another Star Wars Battlefront II fiasco. Man was that ugly.

Maybe they have learned a lesson from that experience. Loot boxes, too, have been a super controversial issue for a long time. One that’s really reached boiling point of late, as well, with the Belgian Gaming Commission out for blood just now. That’s another moral minefield that EA clearly aren’t keen to traipse back into. There’ll be no loot boxes in Battlefield V either, they’ve stated.

Don’t get too excited, though. Don’t go thinking that EA have been visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, and have repented their miserly ways forever. No, sir. Our old friend the microtransaction is still invited to the party.

At the same time as the publisher confirmed that loot crates and content passes would be getting the boot, they also stated that the game’s going to feature multiple different kinds of currency, one of which will be available to buy for real-world cash. Of course, gamers tend to feel some kind of way about this system, but what’s most important is how it’s implemented. To that end, EA and DICE have promised that only cosmetic items will be available with this currency.

A second form of money, dubbed ‘grind currency,’ will function differently, and will only be available through spending time playing the game. In short, Battlefield V is trying as hard as possible to distance itself from any pay-to-win accusations.

These sound like positive steps all around, but the proof’s in the pudding as they say. We’ll just have to sit tight, as we learn more and more about the game over the coming months, and hope that they stick to their word.