Journalists have confirmed that Saints Row: The Third will utilize an online pass system, restricting online play to the game's original purchasers and those who shell out for a fresh key. Though Volition has removed competitive online play from the title, the pass will still be required to access mission elements specifically designed for co-op, as well as the game's Horde – ahem, Whored – mode.
Above: Without a pass, you'll be all on your own trying to figure out what's going on here. Which sucks, because we could use a hand
You'll be able to pick up SR3, online pass and all, this time next week. Probably by now you already have strong feelings about the issue of gated online play, whether those feelings are “I don't like online passes because I support second-hand sales,” “I love this idea because I work for a major publisher,” or “stop talking about this already, where are the game trailers?” So here's a recent advert for the game: feel free to imagine the clip's victims as either online pass sellers or people who complain about the feature, depending on your leanings.
