I was taking a look through my steam games this morning, and noticed that a majority of the newer games I own are still in early access. This isn’t a bad thing and I’m glad that indie companies (as well as more established companies) are able to acquire funding for their games through early access BUT I can’t help but wish that these games were completed, or that more of them were completed.
Starbound, Folk Tale, Gnomoria, Castle Story, Craft the World, and The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot are just some of those games.
It got me thinking about the bickering that happened when Landmark offered ‘early access’ to players for buying in (without touching on Kickstarter at this point). Why were people not hating on Ubisoft for their early access sales? Why are so many people upset and pointing fingers directly at SOE when it is a very common thing to see these days? Funding comes through many different ways. It can be a kickstarter project, it can be through pre-order sales, early access sales, etc. Truth of the matter is people have to get paid for their work and there’s no shame in buying into these early access games at all. You’re helping to fund the game, you’re telling the company that you believe in their product enough to spend money. As a ‘reward’ for plopping down that money you’re typically given early access.
The gaming industry is constantly shifting and changing – we saw it shift when more and more games moved away from subscription models and turned free to play, and we’re seeing it again as more games garner their funding from crowdsourcing mechanics. It’s time to stop being angry at companies, businesses, for trying to earn money. It is their job. If you don’t believe in their product you don’t have to pay for it but please don’t hold a grudge against those who do.