It’s not always clear skies and smooth sailing though, there are plenty of examples of early access games that have never fully reached 1.0, even after years of development. This lack of progress might look like lazy developers to a player, but it’s likely due to too much work for too small a team or simply too low a budget. It’s hard to say whether these games would have reached 1.0 outside of early access, but it’s clear that continually disappointing players won’t just sink a game, it can sink a studio.
Early access can also rise from the ashes, going from a poor initial response to positive reviews once fully released. No Man’s Sky is an interesting example of early access issues. Although not officially called early access, it launched with far less content than players expected, and it was understandably poorly received. Now, a few years after release, it’s got the content it was missing, delighting players and publications alike, whilst also bringing in a whole new set of players. It’s become the game it was always meant to be, and the gaming community is always happy to see that.
Ultimately, early access has gone through its own “early access” where players had to deal with model-specific issues. As with many early access titles, we’ve made it to the other side, which was mostly worth holding out for. When early access is well-utilized, it can provide a direct feedback loop from player to developer and help shape the game into something perfect for its player base. But, if early access is taken advantage of, players are taken advantage of too.