Closing the early access loophole.

  • gila
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    7 months ago

    I completely disagree. A dev conceding to release in early access = a dev committing to later release a finished product which the early accessor will also receive a license to play. Without the latter part, early access becomes a moot system in principle, just a pathway provided by platforms to monetise unfinished games, which may never be finished.

    And the value proposition for that finished product shouldn’t be affected at all by its pre-launch state. Early access isn’t for the benefit of consumers. That many games remain in “early access” for an extended period of time (such that sufficient gameplay value can be extracted prior to actual launch) isn’t really anything to do with the concept of early access itself. It certainly shouldn’t negate your right as a consumer to say “this isn’t fit for purpose” once the final product arrives in your hands. After all if it’s not fit for purpose during the early access period, that isn’t necessarily representative of whether it will be post-launch.