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Well, however one feels about Early Access, I don't think it's going anywhere. I also don't think it's always to do with greed and bad faith. Particularly in the realm of niche indie development, I would say it's usually a matter of necessity, as they have to reach for every option to keep the creditors from the door. It's often a desperate scramble for the next source of funding as they try to complete their vision.

I suspect that they would often much rather not do development in the open, with constant "feedback", but it's one of the chores to deal with when you need crowdfunding.
 
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Ripper said:
Well, however one feels about Early Access, I don't think it's going anywhere. I also don't think it's always to do with greed and bad faith. Particularly in the realm of niche indie development, I would say it's usually a matter of necessity, as they have to reach for every option to keep the creditors from the door. It's often a desperate scramble for the next source of funding as they try to complete their vision.

I suspect that they would often much rather not do development in the open, with constant "feedback", but it's one of the chores to deal with when you need crowdfunding.
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See their is one problem with your reply. Not all Early Access games are niche. Look at Larian who just recently announced Baldur's Gate 3 will be on Early Access in August.

They don't need the cash given publishers and the success of Original Sin 1&2. Unless they are cash broke, and spent every dime on expanding and development.

Now I can see a small 1-15 person team needing the money. I have no problem with that. It's basically the same pattern I've seen with crowdfunding. It's a slippery slope.
 
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Couchpotato said:
See their is one probem with your reply. Not all Early Access games are niche. Look at Larian who just recently announced Baldur's Gate 3 will be on Early Access in August.
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Well, I didn't say all EA games are niche, or that EA is always justified - just that niche games that might interest us are often in that position. I think that of the games we read about in the news here, a large proportion are in that realm of 1-15 man teams.

I'd also say that BG3, although larger than the typical indie production, is still relatively niche in the market.
 
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Andrew23 said:
I think EA is legit. Especially for smaller companies it can present great source of testing, community feedback and additional income. Who knows how many games would never make it to release without EA. And concept is well known and understandable, its not like somebody would make you buy games before final release against your will.
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I do too. I don't particularly like participating in it but it has its place, and some companies have used it well. I bought Hades recently, which is still in EA, and that seems to be a game that has provided value and usefully incorporated feedback all along the process. Battle Brothers was another good use of EA.
 
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