If a player does not have an unused online pass (such as when buying a used game), the player can either purchase access via their console or can access a limited trial of the game's online content. Online passes are traditionally used to restrict access to a game's multiplayer modes and other online content they ship as single-use codes printed on inserts packaged with retail copies of video games, and must be redeemed by the user in order to access the multiplayer and online modes of a particular game. The use of online passes in video games are intended to counter the popularity of stores such as GameStop, which buy and sell second-hand copies of video games. This requires them to purchase a new copy in order to use its functionality. Following criticism of the practice, several major video game publishers, including Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, began phasing out their use in 2013.Ī similar tactic has surfaced in the academic textbook industry, regulating use of supplemental material and other online content, with intent to prevent students from obtaining a second-hand or borrowed copy of a needed textbook. These passes were first primarily used by the video game industry, requiring use of a code found in a game's manual or leaflets to access to certain online content, notably online multiplayer.

Online passes are primarily intended to hinder or discourage the second-hand sale of a product, and to allow the producer of a product to still return profits from second-hand copies of the product.

An online pass is a digital rights management system for restricting access to supplemental functionality in a product by using a single-use serial number.

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