Early Access: Good or Bad?

majessticah

majessticah

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Dec 4, 2014
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In the past couple of years, the concept of "Early Access" to games has become huge... this is the process of paying the developers of the game in order to play their (usually) alpha version of their unfinished, unpolished, and usually buggy game.

This concept makes sense to me on some fronts, and frustrates me endlessly on others. For one thing, I understand that developers, especially indie, need game-testers to help them find bugs and the such. Additionally, I understand that sometimes developers need more funding in order to make a living while creating the game. But I'm a strong believer in websites like Kickstarter and other things similar to that website.

But on the other hand, when games are advertised as "free to play" when they are released, and they charge people to access the game early... it makes me furious. These people are wasting money... if they were just patient, they could literally play the game for free. I feel like it's a scam, honestly. Sure, sometimes they offer incentives/rewards for paying... like "we'll make a sword in-game named after you," or "you'll get 30 days of premium when released"... but those are just cheap ploys to get people to pay.

I don't know. As you can see, I'm very back and forth on this topic, and would like other people's opinions. Thanks!
 
Early acess is the worst thing that happened to PC gaming. They get all the money they will ever get for the game during early acess so whats the point of continuing to spend money developing it?
It's s like someone paying you $100 upfront to clean there house in a
year from now. When the time actually comes you have already spent the
money so you will not have the motivation to want to continue cleaning it because you know there is no more money coming. This is what early acess is. Just think about it. How many game companies have promised you so much stuff but you never saw it?
 
If the early access comes with the caveat of being a paid alpha, then it's a part of the terrible trend the gaming industry has taken towards releasing unfinished products for money.

There was a time when alpha and beta access were entirely free because the developers needed feedback on gameplay and such from a larger audience than their internal testing teams. Nowadays, you end up needing to basically pre-order the game for the "privilege" of playing an unfinished and buggy product. Of course, once your money is in their hands, the incentive for the developers to push updates and fixes really becomes lost.

I mean, it can be done right, but by and large it's just a marketing tool.
 
I personally just avoid alpha access games altogether, it's much better to wait for a finished product that you know you will like than to play a half-completed mess of a game that may never fulfill all its development goals.
 
Definitely a bad. They get money for releasing a buggy version of their game, and yet people still buy it? How much more greedy can you get. I agree with nonsiccus. People consider it a privilege to play the game "before it's released", but it seems more like a way for gaming companies to get their money before they finish developing the game. I feel like gaming has gone down a wrong turn, and I hope more companies see that this is not the way to make money.
 
I agree with everyone, it's a bad thing, though I've never heard of a free to play game which cost money to play for the release? That's one of the most stupid things I've ever heard actually. But in general, you'd better wait and buy the game upon it's release instead of a pre-release version. All the bugs are annoying, and it's way more fun to play a game the first time in a working environment instead of an alpha version.
 
I'm relieved to hear that the majority of the opinion feels pretty much the same as I do. I wonder if this trend is something that will live on and feed to players' impatience and will to play a game, or if people will realize they're wasting their money on a flawed, unfinished product and hopefully let it die out.
 
I believe if you are highly devoted to the game, then why not buy the Early Access version? Sometimes you even get the game for cheaper if you buy it while its in the buggy stage. You only have to buy it once. It really only comes down to whether or not you deem it is worth it. I got an early stage of Rust on steam and while it may be extremely buggy, it is still fun to play with friends. Anyway thats my opinion.
 
The only early access I personally ever pay for is if I can play the game like 3 days before the official launch of the game as a perk/leg up from normal players. The whole pay to play alpha is ridiculous. If I'm going to pay for a game, I want it to be as complete as it can be.
 
I don't like early access, because I don't really like to play unfinished games if I have to pay for them. I don't even know what the game will look like in the end and I already have to pay for it. Not thanks!
 
Early access is merely another way to raise revenue, generate more hype, and allow game designers some pre-launch feedback. Every company does this with their product but in their own style, and regarding the video game industry, this has only become more popularly known in recent times due to more open published events that are bigger than yesteryears. I think early-access is perfectly fine, because it all comes down who "volunteers" to pay for such access to that service or product - c'mon now, no one is forced to do it, or pay attention to it.
 
It's really hit or miss and depends on the devs for the most part.

I've had plenty of amazing Early Access games I've been a part of that I wouldn't mind giving the devs more money, and I've been burnt on unfinished crap with empty promises of "SoonTM" releases that never come.

So research the developers first before buying Early Access.
 
I'm torn between loving and hating early access games. I've never liked the idea of paying to get a beta copy from companies that clearly have the funds to develop the game. There's nothing to support there besides another way to pay the company for the same game. I wish people would stop paying into these sort of early access games because it sends a signal to developers that it's okay to make people pay to be their test dummies.

However, if we're talking something like Kickstarter or a game from an indie developer where they need those funds to continue then that's different to me. If I truly believe in what they're doing and want to see it happen I'll do early access. I'm investing into an idea and showing it's something I want, supporting it with my money. The early access should just be a bonus to wanting to see the game become complete. I think many amazing games would never be possible without this sort of funding. (Minecraft originally started on a system like this for example, and one of my favorite games Shovel Knight would've never happened without Kickstarter)
 
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