Early access has grown substantially over the last decade, and players’ standards for these releases have risen as well. Today, studios can no longer afford to ship rough, bug-filled builds — a trend Motion Twin’s developers have noticed.
“Expectations are higher now than they were five or six years ago — both in terms of content and polish across every area,” Windblown designer Yannick Bertier said in an interview. “By the time Windblown launched in early access it was already quite progressed, and it’s important to start from a base that’s ready for release.”
“Players want a genuine game,” added designer Thomas Wasser. — “Even if it isn’t finished, the content should feel complete. A small launch offering must be flawless; otherwise it’s just a paid demo and won’t satisfy people. Expectations are very high now, and examples like Hades show that quality from the outset matters.”
Most players understand they’re buying an incomplete title in early access, but as Bertier points out, they still spend money.
“There will be complaints about missing content or incompleteness, but that’s fair — they are buying the game.”.
Source: iXBT.games