Whether you’re gaming on console or PC, early access is a means for developers to fund their projects and get feedback from players before the game’s completion and full release.

Most early access titles come from independent teams without publishers as a way to fund the game’s development on their own. By buying into early access games, you are essentially helping to fund the game and support the developers with testing and feedback.

Early access often offers the game at a reduced price, sometimes as much as 50-75% off the eventual retail cost, and you gain early access during development as well as a copy of the full game once released. However, purchasing a game during early access doesn’t come without risks as there is no guarantee that the developers will launch a complete game.

That’s an important aspect of early access gaming to consider: You might be purchasing access to a game that will never be finished, nor will it necessarily be updated after your purchase.

When you buy an early access game, you’re essentially doing so with the hope that it eventually gets released in full by supporting developers with your money. But that money could go to anything, so gamers need to be wary of early access developers before buying into any title that gives access during its development.

Early Access: Minecraft Starts a Trend

However, some developers have been incredibly successful with early access launches of their games. Minecraft  is one of the first examples of early access gaming and definitely the most successful. According to a 2012 PC Gamer article, Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of Minecraft, released the first access to the game on May 17, 2009.

While Minecraft  is an anomaly in that it’s a billion dollar property now, it started with one person, Notch, developing the game part-time. Minecraft  launched in 2009 into an early access format.  According to an interview with Gamasutra, Notch says the game “…sold 6,400 copies…” from its launch to the time of the interview on March 23, 2010. 6,400 copies in one year and then over 100 million copies in eight years is a huge jump. Again, Minecraft  is an exception rather than the norm with early access games.

While the core of the gameplay remains, the released version of Minecraft  was still early on in its development. According to Forbes, Minecraft  is the second best selling video game of all time with over 106 million copies sold, second only to Tetris. Forbes compiled this list in 2016, so Minecraft  is probably far past that 106 million at this point. Developers might look at Minecraft  as the example of early access and the possibilities of success.

However, Minecraft  stands as one of the few successful games to move from early access to full release in any meaningful way. After the success of Minecraft, I’m not surprised to see other developers try their hand at early access. It’s a way for them to get paid for their ideas and devote more time and resources to developing the game.

Some early access developers succeed and go on to produce excellent high-quality games. Those examples of quality are rare. The majority of early access games don’t amount to anything substantial.

Early Access on PC Gaming Platform Steam

Steam’s early access program launched back in 2013 and offered the first early access program for PC players. While other games used the early access model before, Steam offered the service as a platform, which made it easier for developers to promote and obtain funding for their early access games.

Through its PC gaming platform, Valve defines early access as “…games that evolve as you play them, as you give feedback, and as the developers update and add content.” However, Steam also notes that “You should be aware that some teams will be unable to ‘finish’ their game.”

While some games release on their own through the developer, the vast majority of early access games that release come through Steam. As of right now, Steam has at least 2,216 early access titles available for purchase. Another 226 titles are “Coming Soon.” These games vary in style and genre, including MMO, action, and sports. Just like completed, fully released games, PC gamers have a variety of options when choosing early access games.

Herein lies the problem with early access games: In 2014, “only 25% of the early access titles released have been released as full games.” That means that of those 2,216 early access titles offered on Steam, only about 550 of those games will be released as completed games. 

If you purchase an early access title through Steam, you have a 75% chance of buying a game that never gets fully released. There is an inherent risk of purchasing an early access game, and unless you are fine with the idea of spending money on a game that will never release in full, then you should pick and choose your early access titles carefully.

DayZ  was one of the most highly anticipated early access games that seems to be stuck in development. The game launched with early access on December 16, 2013. It is still in the alpha version development stage more than four years after that early access launch.

According to the game’s Steam page, the developers have missed the release window. “At the current time the core development of the base DayZ  game is projected to run between 2.5 to 3.5 years. (Putting the departure from Early Access at approximately mid 2017).” The official DayZ  game had all the goodwill in the world going into its development and early access launch from the success of the Arma 2: DayZ Mod.

The Arma 2: DayZ Mod  is reviewed on Steam as “Very Positive” in the “Recent Review” section and the “All Reviews” section. A “Very Positive” steam ranking represents the second highest possible review score on Steam. The DayZ Mod  is still supported and actively developed.

While DayZ  is continually updated and will supposedly release at some point in the future, it’s hard not to see DayZ  as an example of early access gone wrong considering it’s still in an alpha release stage. Additionally, with over 150,000 reviews, the community response has been “mixed” or “mostly negative.”

During that same time, Larian Studios announced and launched a complete game from early access to full launch. Divinity: Original Sin 2  released in early access in September 2016 and then launched a year later on September 14, 2017.

Divinity: Original Sin 2  falls under the “Very Positive” in both recent and all reviews on Steam. The game is well received by Steam users and the 69 critics whose reviews compile the games Metacritic rating at 93 garnering “Universal Acclaim.”  Divinity: Original Sin 2  currently sits at #26 on the list of highest rated PC games on Metacritic. People love this game and it’s not surprising considering the reception of the first Divinity: Original Sin. On that same Metacritic list, the first game sits at #18.

Unfortunately, there’s no sure indicator or way to predict how likely a game will be released after its early access launch. However, looking into the development team and the history can provide some insights.

DayZ  is being developed by Bohemia Interactive, the developer of the base game Arma 2  which is where the mod can still be played. Dean Hall, the creator of the Arma 2: DayZ Mod, eventually moved to become Project Lead for the official DayZ  game in 2012. Hall was only a part of the development team for two years before moving on in 2014. While a game is developed by many people, when the creator of the idea and the project lead for the game leaves, that’s not usually a good sign, and it’s worth considering how that will impact the game and its development.

Larian Studios has released seven Divinity  games before the launch of Divinity: Original Sin 2. This past history of successful games launches is unusual for early access developers, but it should also point to their ability to successfully develop and release games in a timely manner that are generally well received. Larian Studios releases a game every few years.

While Bohemia Interactive has a similar history of releases, DayZ  doesn’t fall into the same category of military simulation, which is where the rest of their catalog resides.

These two games represent opposite sides of the PC early access debate. Divinity: Original Sin 2  is a standout and an exception to the rule. Whereas DayZ, unfortunately, falls into the status quo.

Early Access on Xbox Game Preview

On the console side of gaming, Microsoft created the Xbox Game Preview which “… is a way for our fans to preview and purchase work-in-progress digital titles, participate in the development process and help developers make Xbox One games the best they can be.”

And just like PC, Xbox Game Preview games are not guaranteed to finish. Microsoft states that “We work hard with Xbox Game Preview applicants prior to approval to make sure they have a plan to update their title going forward and solicit community feedback. That said, games purchased in Xbox Game Preview are work-in-progress and may or may not change over time. We cannot guarantee all games available in the program will be finished.”

However, there are far fewer preview games on Xbox than on PC. As of right now, there are only eight games within the program. With only eight games currently in the program, Microsoft has much more control over the titles that are accessible through their Xbox Preview Program, hopefully giving more attention to the quality of the games available to players in their ecosystem.

According to Windows Central, three other games have launched on Xbox through the preview system:  Ark: Survival Evolved, The Long Dark, and Elite: Dangerous. These games are far less renowned compared to Divinity: Original Sin 2  on PC with metascores of 69, 76, and 80, respectively. A game’s success is not dependent on metascores, nor should it be. Reviews represent the reception of a game from a variety of viewpoints.

Many studios would be happy with sales of their game reaching into the multi-million mark. Ark: Survival Evolved  has sold over 9 million copies, across platforms, as of June 2017. Just like AAA games, early access games go on to launch with bugs and issues still intact.

Fortunately, Microsoft has more control over their preview program than Steam considering the limited number of games. Hopefully, Xbox players are treated to better more complete games because of the limited number of games and, more likely, better oversight compared to their PC counterpart.

Early Access Takeaways

The risk of early access titles lies in the ambiguity of knowing exactly what you’re purchasing. Both programs from Microsoft and Steam point out that they can’t guarantee the launch of a game even if the game appears in their program.

For me, I’ve played a fair share of early access titles over the years, including DayZ, Ark: Survival Evolved, Subnautica, Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, and Minecraft.

While I have no problem buying into a game during early access and playing them throughout the development process, I also make sure to take the time to research and learn about the game and development team.

I say that as someone who enjoys learning about game developers. I feel like I go into an early access purchase armed with some knowledge of the developers beforehand. I try to learn about the people behind those games and look at their reliability before putting down my money.

I’m in no way an expert on the matter of game developers, but I try to stay informed, which I think is an important part of the decision-making process before I choose to invest in an early access game. I think that research is necessary in order to get a better idea of how likely a developer is to release a complete game. I also tend to survey my friends about particular early access games that I’m interested in purchasing. I’m more inclined to purchase an early access game if a friend has already bought it and can provide feedback on the game and the developers.

If you are going to purchase early access games, my suggestion is to do some research before buying one or just avoid them until their full release. Like I said, researching developers takes time, which I’m willing to invest. Not everyone wants to make that time investment and understandably so.

Another consideration is waiting off on an early access game until it is set for a full release. You may be able to get the game at a discount while mitigating some of the risks associated with buying it near the beginning of its early access release. For example, Rust  entered early access five days before DayZ  on December 11, 2013, and it is finally seeing a full release on February 8, 2018. The price of the game is going from $19.99 to $34.99, or a 75% increase. If you want the game at a significantly reduced price a month before the games official release, you can pay the $20 now with a very high likelihood that you will receive a complete game.

Overall, I’m content with my early access purchases. If cost divided by time spent playing equals value then I’m around $.15 per hour of gameplay. Minecraft, Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, and Ark: Survival Evolved  make up the vast majority of that play time, equating to around $.06 per hour of gameplay. I’m fine with those numbers as I spent the majority of that time with friends. DayZ  is the only game that I’m genuinely disappointed with purchasing.

I think if you go into early access games as an informed consumer then you’ll probably find success and maybe even save some money versus waiting for games to release in full.