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Early access

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757:, by 2014 early access has gained a negative connotation, as games do not have the quality assurances of complete titles, and in the case of Steam's Early Access, the lack of curating and testing by Steam to make sure the games are representative of the storefront's description. Some players also worry about the "double dip" effect, in which a game may be promoted twice, first through its introduction on early access, and then on its subsequent full release. In November 2014, Valve updated its early access rules for developers to address concerns that had been raised. Among these include the statement that games on early access should be in a playable alpha or beta state, there are clear expectations of what the final product of the game will be like, and that the developer intends to continue work on the game, and can be financial stable to ultimately release a finished product. Since 2014, early access has regained more acceptance as developers better tailor projects for release in this manner, typically by creating sufficient foundation for game to have its planned an entertainment factor and technical stability, and using early access to gradually release additional content and observe and adjust to emergent ideas that come from the early access player base. 112:, and may be months or years from anticipated completion. Interested players are able to buy into the development of the game, gaining access to the software in the working state, and are encouraged to play and stress-test the software. Their feedback can help the developer tune the game's direction, art, and software mechanics in anticipation of a final release. Once the game is released, the player either continues to have access to the software or is rewarded with a means to obtain the final release of the title and other extras, such as sounds, their name in the game's credits, or other rewards. These players help fund the game to completion, but take a risk that the game may never reach a final release. A further benefit can come from preliminary word-of-mouth of a game in an early access state. As players are typically not limited by confidentiality agreements to participate in early access, these players can provide reviews on social media, or play the game on streaming broadcasts, which subsequently can stimulate interest in the title. 665:; while the development team from Double Fine had laid out plans for several features and gameplay improvements over time, Double Fine opted to end its full-time development, completing its early access and releasing a final product that while fully playable lacked many of the planned features; the company will continue to fix critical bugs with the game and will include support for user modifications via Steam's Workshop channel but will not create any new content for the game itself, disappointing many players of the game that were looking forwards to these planned features. Shortly after the release of 1.0 twelve employees were laid off including the programmer and project lead JP LeBreton. Later on the Double Fine forums it was announced that there were no further plans for patches and there was no team assigned to the project leaving 268:; at a point where they had to make a go or no-go decision on whether to proceed with full development of a niche racing title, the company opted to use early access to offer a polished version of the game still in development to meter interest and gain feedback from players, correcting issues that players had had with previous titles in their series. After about a year, Codemasters was confident to proceed to complete the game and producing console versions of it with their publisher alongside the personal computer version. 79:, and limits what information can potentially be shared with competitors. As such, publishers will fund the full development of a game through its completion, but will be less willing to take risks on experimental titles. In some cases, publishers have found ways to allow players to win or buy into access into a game's beta state in a controlled environment. For example, an invitation to the beta version of the multiplayer portion of 656:, called out on both its developer Killing Day Studios for abusing the early access program and for Valve to remove the title for fraudulently representing gameplay. Valve subsequently removed the title and refunded money, noting that while developers using early access have the right to promote and set the pricing for their games, "Steam does require honesty from developers in the marketing of their games". 55:, such as pre-alpha, alpha, and/or beta, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue further development on the game. Those that pay to participate typically help to debug the game, provide feedback and suggestions, may have access to special materials in the game. The early-access approach is a common way to obtain funding for 63:. Many crowdfunding projects promise to offer access to alpha and/or beta versions of the game as development progresses; however, unlike some of these projects which solicit funds but do not yet have a playable game, all early access games offer an immediately playable version of the unfinished game to players. 628:, a wilderness survival game, has had its early access users sharing their own adventures in the game's current sandbox mode on the games' forums, from which its developer, Hinterland, has been quietly using to improve the game and crafting the game's planned story mode around some of this indirect feedback. 826:. This also helps in combination with early access games that gain popularity through streaming channels, as the developers not only get increased awareness of the game but can gain direct feedback from the streamer and their audience on game balance and improvement, such as reported by the developers for 728:
stated that the early access model validates the use of unfinished games as a "valid business strategy". While those that buy into the early access do get an incomplete game to play, test out, and provide input to the developers, these people also run the risk that the game will never be completed or
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launched to lukewarm reception on early access in December 2014, but its developer continued to push forward on a very open development process, allowing users to directly see some of their project planning documentation and providing the means to provide feedback directly from the game. This enabled
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or other crowdfunding mechanisms often include early access to backers, and later allow those that did not participate in the funding to buy into that early access, which helps to provide additional funds for further expansion. The term may also be used in a derogatory way to describe games released
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group has created a Humble Store that also provides storefront and distribution methods for indie gamers that wish to sell early access to games, and for developers looking to get on Steam, offers the ability to provide Steam redemption keys once these titles are listed at the storefront, while also
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To help early access, some digital distribution storefronts have provided the sales and distribution mechanisms for developers to use to offer their titles under early access. While these stores take a small fraction of the sales for the service, they also handle complex issues with payments through
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used a paid early access period after two closed beta periods since around July 2017; those that purchased into this Founders' period would gain additional benefits once the game was released in full. Epic reported that more than 500,000 players purchased into this early access period within a week
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software for sales and distribution. The program launched on March 20, 2013, and initially made 12 games available. Before the games are released, the developers solicit feedback from Steam Early Access purchasers (who have contributed funds to the game's creation), to provide the needed input.
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was placed on Steam's early access with numerous promised features, but found by those that purchased the title that the game has numerous programming bugs making it unplayable, that it failed to approach its promises on the product page and used a number of assets from the commercial game engine.
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Other games have been considered by commentators to have used the early access approach well in light of the above concerns, typically bringing near-finished products with frequent and continual content updates and direct interaction between developer and players to improve the product before its
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also used incremental updates during its early access, given the number of various gameplay mechanics systems it uses, and the developers, Red Hook Studios, had to handle a large volume of negative feedback upon the addition of one specific gameplay-changing mechanic they felt was critical to the
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to the public at large under the presumption they were completed games, but still required a high degree of patching or updates to resolve large numbers of software bugs or to add features missing at launch, even if this was not the intent of the developer or publisher. Full release games such as
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with in-game monetization, developers and publishers frequently offer a paid-for "founders" package that gives players early access to the game, including in-game currency, special equipment or other items that mark them as founders they can use after the game's full release, and other benefits;
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continued to offer early access throughout its development period, assuring those that bought into it would receive the final version for free, which happened in November 2011. Prior to this, nearly two million players had purchased into the alpha- and beta-stage releases, with over $ 33 million
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Games still in early access have generally not been considered for the industry's top awards, since they have technically not yet been published yet and received in-depth critical reviews. However, the question of whether early access games can qualify for these awards was raised in 2017 when
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represented their first experiment with the early access approach, they had reached a point where the amount of money earned from sales of the game in early access were not covering the production costs, and the timeline to reach the planned goals would have been several years down the road.
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For indie games, which are typically distributed without a publisher, the source of funding for development is not as readily available. Many smaller indie companies use personal funds, while larger ones may get investments from other sources, and more recently crowdfunding programs such as
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tool to estimate sales of games through Steam profiles, identified that contrary to popular belief, early access titles only gain one major sales boost - when the game is first released in early access on Steam - as opposed to having a second sales boost once the game leaves early access.
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Around the late 2010s, major publishers began to use "early access" to describe pre-order or premium version incentives for their titles, though which the purchaser of these versions would get access to the step some days before the full release to regular purchasers. Games such as
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Another concern related to early access is how long the title spends in that state. Most successful titles that have used early access typical remained in early access for about one year before a full release. Some have stayed in an early access state for multiple years, such as
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The concept of early access helps to alleviate both problems. Early access to a game is typically offered when the game is in a playable state but may not be feature-complete, or may still have several software bugs to be found. Often these games are considered at
227:; the Xbox Game Preview program differs from other approaches as the early access titles include a free game demo at the current state of development to give players a chance to test the game before buying. This service was launched with the early access titles 688:
states they feel that they should provide consumer commentary on any product that is being sold to consumers, but recognize that early access titles are still in-progress works and thus will handle these in a different manner than their normal product reviews.
445:, more than a million copies of the game were sold within the first year of it being on early access. While it was one of the first games to use Steam's early access program in 2015, it spent five years before having its full release in February 2020. 350:
were some of the first games to offer these early access periods. In such cases, these early access periods are typically not used for player feedback but to identify last minute software bugs or test server performance before the full release.
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used both its own early access approach as well as Steam's version to incrementally add features and obtain feedback from its player base, treating each new release as a new expansion to the game to keep players engaged during this period.
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had sold more than ten million copies and grossed over $ 100 million in revenue. By the time the game was fully released in December 2017, PUBG reported over 30 million total players, a number buoyed by the popularity of the game in
558:, through its nearly two-year early access period. Nearly 700,000 copies were sold during the early access period, while another 300,000 were sold in three days after its official release to push total sales over one million units. 765:
features appear well suited to take advantage of early access, allowing the developers to tweak the procedural generation systems with player feedback. Several titles that have used Steam's Early Access in such a manner include
186:-free titles and providing more curation to vet the titles using the service. GOG further implemented a 14-day, no-questions-asked refund policy for early access titles, which removes some of the risk for the potential buyer. 636:, a zombie survival game, allows players to create content for the game in early access, which can be downloaded by players from the steam community workshop, and is sometimes added directly into the game by its developer. 729:
may be a sub-par product. A study using Steam's Early Access as of November 2014 found that only 25% of the titles submitted as early access had made it to a final release form. Sergey Galyonkin, the creator of the
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have proven viable for both. Another difficulty for indie developers is the means of testing their games prior to release, lacking the resources of a publisher and not obtaining enough feedback prior to release.
457:'s existing development costs and allowing them to further refine the game with community input. It left early access after about 15 months in May 2018, with more than one million sales prior to this point. 368:
After its release, Valve planned to have titles taken from their Steam Greenlight program added to Steam Early Access, as well as adding titles which have already been accepted through Steam Greenlight.
482:, a roguelike-Metroidvania mashup game, spent about a year and four months in early access, using feedback from players to fine tune features. Prior to its full launch in August 2017, its developers 316:
further, any progress made during this period is retained when the game leaves early access, giving such players a head start over newer players. This approach has been used for games such as
695:, as part of an updated review policy, will only formally review retail versions of games after their release, though may give initial impressions of games still in early access development. 137:
15) to access the game, allowing him to continue its development. As sales of the game increased, he was able to quit his job about eight months later to work on the game full-time, founding
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introduced its Refinery early-access program in May 2016, which allowed developers to choose from other early-access models, including limited-user alphas and by-invite-only betas.
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that he developed alongside his full-time job. The alpha-version game proved popular enough that within the month of release, Persson added a means by which players could pay 10
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considered the concept of early access, particularly Steam's approach, as one of the five trends in 2013 that defined the direction that the video game industry was headed.
394:, a 2018 survival game developed by Gamepires, sold 250,000 units on its first day of sale within early access, and reached over one million sales within three weeks later. 1349: 590:
released on Steam's early access program in late March 2017 with a focused plan to complete early access within six months through frequent updates. Within six months,
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Video game critics have generally developed policies to avoid doing final, scored reviews for games in early access, instead offering interim commentary on the game.
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of its launch. The game's early access period was completed on June 30, 2020, spanning nearly three years, but Epic Games reneged on a prior promise to make its "
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was first released into early access in November 2017 by MegaCrit. The studio announced the deck-building game had reached over 1 million units sold by June 2018.
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began an early access program (EAP), "Games in Development" similar to Steam's in January 2016, but staying true to their storefront's philosophy, maintaining
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was launched on early access without a strong campaign for gameplay, but had a great deal of visual polish that attracted users to the game. According to
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sold over a million copies within a month of its 2015 release in early access, and more than nine million by the time it fully released two years later.
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Video game console makers have also looked to the success of early access and have created their own similar programs for their consoles' users.
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the game to get refined through the early access process and gain favorable reviews, leading towards further release on console systems.
750:. Consumers do not necessarily have assurance of when the early access period will be done, or if it will ever be considered complete. 71:
Traditionally, game publishers do not release unfinished versions of their products to the public, instead relying on in-house testing
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game. The studio reported sales of over 650,000 across their early access period and a week after going live with their final version.
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in December 2018. Supergiant provided regular updates and roadmaps to the game's development to players, as well as documented by
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was able to raise around eight million in revenue from more than 250,000 sales of the game while still in early access.
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in March 2013, allowing developers to take advantage of the Steam storefront and the Steamworks API. The storefront
3112: 2688: 1799: 701: 586: 430: 380:, the following is a partial list of games that have been considered successful uses of the early access approach: 3122: 2119: 1582: 578: 2874: 282:) after the primary development work was complete, incorporating player response to fine-tune the final game. 3117: 2982: 2002: 1350:"No Man's Sky is "unfinished and repetitive" because "math can't always create meaning" says Geoff Keighley" 2448: 2281: 853: 202: 109: 52: 920: 248: 3107: 1025: 255: 183: 72: 2796: 531: 402:, whose development started in 2011 and which was announced in 2013 through a Kickstarter campaign. 330: 669:
integration in limbo. Double Fine's Tim Schafer stated that they opted for this solution as while
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incorporating a method to allow players to pay or tip the developer in addition to the base cost.
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There have been some notable examples of unfinished games of the early access approach. The game
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developers following the Steam model, and launched this approach in September 2015 with the game
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launched an alpha-funding initiative in 2011 to help indie developers promote upcoming titles.
87: 2256:"Kerbal Space Program dev on random solar systems, the joy of failure and the "cult" of Steam" 713:
was nearing its first non-early access release, but had yet to officially publish outside it.
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s success led to the early access approach becoming a popular way to publishing indie titles.
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This article is about the video game industry term. For the clinical drug testing term, see
2715:"Opinion: Nominating PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for Game of the Year is a Terrible Idea" 2591: 1137: 804: 706: 566: 437: 421: 318: 211: 205:
stated in July 2014 that they considering creating an early access program for independent
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developers have used an early access approach to augment their normal development cycles.
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and eventually moved onto Steam's early access program, where it sold millions of copies.
507: 48: 1716: 2501: 2096: 1953: 1052:"GOG 'looking at' launching a service like Steam Early Access for games in development" 828: 542: 496: 453:
sold 320,000 copies within one week of release on Steam's Early Access, fully covering
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The early access approach has been criticized by some; as noted by Ben Kurchera of
599: 551: 547: 346: 126: 2146: 2064:"'Weird and hard and super awkward': Klei talks Invisible, Inc. and Early Access" 798: 768: 666: 501: 490: 461: 364: 292: 235: 175: 76: 20: 2174:"Fortnite is out of 'early access,' Save the World no longer going free to play" 1892: 285:
Early access is often tied in with other means of funding. Games that have used
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program in June 2015 for those users involved with the dashboard preview of the
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Though most titles that use early access are from independent developers, some
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has used a similar early access development path for its subsequent titles
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by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release
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have been negatively labeled by critics as "early access" in this manner.
2200:"Hades Has Sold 1 Million Copies, Nearly One-Third Sold In Last Few Days" 1611:"Steam Early Access lets gamers buy and play titles still in development" 969:"Minecraft Draws Over $ 33 Million In Revenue From 1.8M Paying Customers" 483: 286: 259: 244: 96: 2308:"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has sold 10 million copies in six months" 1893:"Besiege finally goes 1.0 in February, after five years of Early Access" 223:
console with plans to expand it fully to all users on both Xbox One and
816: 615: 526: 513: 478: 264: 224: 56: 2003:"DayZ has sold 3 million copies even though it's still in development" 59:, and may also be used along with other funding mechanisms, including 2986: 2933: 2774: 2692: 2565: 2424: 2396: 2068: 2035: 2007: 1980: 1925: 1921:"Early access effort Conan Exiles surpassed 1M sales ahead of launch" 1841: 1804: 1772:"Conan Exiles hits 320,000 sold after one week on Steam Early Access" 1615: 1242: 1189: 1163: 1110: 1082: 972: 911:"Betting on betas: Why the early access phenomenon is risky business" 885: 762: 730: 715: 691: 442: 117: 2743:"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and GOTY: It's about art vs. product" 3075: 3071:"How streaming revolutionised indies like Hades and Slay the Spire" 2719: 2640: 2453: 2364:"PUBG creator on the rise of China and the future of Battlegrounds" 2259: 2204: 1897: 1639:"Valve lets you pay for the beta with Steam 'Early Access' program" 1556: 1500: 1326: 1298: 1029: 786: 746:, and others have remained in a perpetual early access state, like 632: 521: 220: 2336:"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds surpasses $ 100 million in revenue" 2031:"How player criticism helped make Dead Cells the game it is today" 1837:"7 successful Early Access games that all developers should study" 1378:"Mass Effect: Andromeda becomes an early access game after launch" 2907: 2595: 780: 269: 187: 179: 100: 2588:"Yep, I was one of the 12 people Double Fine laid off on Friday" 1463:"Paragon will be totally free-to-play — but not in early access" 705:
was nominated for several awards including Game of the Year for
3014: 2637:"Tim Schafer explains Spacebase DF-9's unexpected v1.0 release" 1869: 1294:"Xbox One's Version of Early Access Is Coming to Windows 10 PC" 555: 454: 240: 167: 163: 138: 81: 2562:"Valve hauls "scam" Earth: Year 2066 from Steam Early Access" 1528: 1354: 130: 2904:"Feature: Early Access, as told by the devs that live there" 2477:"The Story Behind Unturned, One Of Steam's Newest Top Games" 2392:"Now out of Early Access, Battlegrounds crosses 30M players" 2147:"After two years, Fortnite is still somehow in early access" 1666:"Scum sells 1 million units in three weeks of early access" 1078:"GOG launches its own take on Steam's Early Access service" 2823:"Kickstarter and early access games are ruining PC gaming" 2449:"Slay the Spire has sold a million copies in Early Access" 75:. This prevents such versions from becoming the target of 2124: 550:
was released in early access alongside the launch of the
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went on to win several game of the year awards for 2020.
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One of the best-known early examples of this model is
3010:"I Love When A Steam Early Access Game Gets It Right" 2771:"The 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2013" 2355: 1830: 1828: 1826: 1824: 1822: 1106:"Itch.io launches Refinery, an early access toolset" 371: 1695:"Exclusive Interview Star Citizen's Chris Roberts" 1583:"Steam Early Access: From Underdogs to Alpha Dogs" 2897: 2895: 2022: 1819: 359:The "Steam Early Access" release service (run by 3094: 1238:"Early Access coming to Android via Google Play" 1428: 1426: 904: 902: 486:announced the game had sold over 850,000 units. 2892: 2420:"Prison Architect rakes in nearly $ 8 million" 1406:"The 5 Biggest Problems With 'Sea Of Thieves'" 1322:"AAA publishers now eyeing Steam Early Access" 243:offers a similar Early Access program for the 1435:"Early access changed everything about games" 91:, contributing to the latter's strong sales. 3043:"Ark: Survival Evolved hits 2 million sales" 2000: 1947:McCutcheon, Andrew Glen (January 26, 2016). 1940: 1423: 899: 875: 873: 753:Due to some early access failures, such as 2120:"Fortnite Hits 500,000 Digital Pre-Orders" 1946: 1740: 1549: 1209: 262:used Steam's Early Access to help develop 121:. The game's development began in 2009 by 2927: 2872: 2559: 2171: 1977:"DayZ week-one sales rocket past 400,000" 1630: 1026:"Steam now selling early access to games" 3068: 3040: 2953: 2529:"Salt Of The Earth - A Steam Fail Story" 2526: 2446: 2253: 2117: 1974: 1765: 1763: 1580: 1263: 870: 859:List of video game crowdfunding projects 311:For games that expect to be released as 16:Funding model in the video game industry 3007: 2954:Sinclair, Brendan (December 20, 2016). 2928:Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 21, 2014). 2794: 2417: 2389: 2305: 1769: 1692: 1576: 1574: 1496:"The Dauntless open beta begins in May" 1375: 1131: 992: 879: 141:to bring on a larger development team. 3095: 2846: 2820: 2712: 2634: 2279: 2197: 1890: 1862: 1636: 1521: 1432: 1319: 1291: 1023: 966: 650:Many users, including Jim Sterling of 3041:Handranh, Matthew (October 9, 2015). 2901: 2873:Galyonkin, Sergey (August 24, 2015). 2847:Walker, Patrick (November 14, 2014). 2768: 2740: 2689:"Eurogamer has dropped review scores" 2686: 2474: 2418:Matulef, Jeffrey (November 6, 2013). 2390:McAloon, Alissa (December 21, 2017). 2333: 2089: 2061: 2028: 1834: 1800:"How Ark survived Steam Early Access" 1760: 1608: 1602: 1550:Litchfield, Ted (December 26, 2023). 1493: 1183: 1157: 1075: 908: 354: 2361: 2280:De Meo, Francesco (March 29, 2020). 2172:McWhertor, Michael (June 30, 2020). 2001:D'Orazio, Dante (January 25, 2015). 1975:Purchase, Robert (January 2, 2014). 1918: 1891:Bailey, Dustin (February 12, 2020). 1797: 1571: 1460: 1433:Goslin, Austen (November 13, 2019). 1347: 1264:Sinclair, Brendan (March 29, 2016). 1235: 1103: 1049: 3008:Grayson, Nathan (October 8, 2015). 2956:"The pros and cons of Early Access" 2821:Plafke, James (December 24, 2013). 2635:Savage, Phil (September 22, 2014). 2362:Hall, Charlie (December 22, 2017). 2306:Minotti, Mike (September 5, 2017). 2254:Brimbaum, Ian (December 23, 2013). 2198:Gurwin, Gabe (September 20, 2020). 2111: 2043:from the original on August 1, 2018 1770:Minotti, Mike (February 10, 2017). 1709: 1686: 1348:Saed, Sharif (September 30, 2016). 1266:"Shifting from AAA to Early Access" 880:Johnson, Soren (February 6, 2012). 640: 425:, a role-playing game developed by 272:used early access to help complete 13: 2585: 2225: 1741:Hutchinson, Lee (August 3, 2014). 1693:Scaurus, Mark (October 19, 2012). 1475:from the original on April 7, 2016 1320:Makuch, Eddie (January 26, 2014). 1184:Wawro, Alex (September 22, 2015). 993:Berling, Dale (October 28, 2011). 215:. Microsoft similarly started the 14: 3134: 3069:Arguella, Diego (March 4, 2020). 2769:Graft, Kris (December 13, 2013). 2741:Grubb, Jeff (November 14, 2017). 2713:Bailey, Kat (November 14, 2017). 2560:Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 6, 2014). 1798:Dane, Patrick (August 29, 2017). 1292:Makuch, Eddie (August 16, 2016). 1210:Machkovech, Sam (June 15, 2015). 1132:Kuchera, Ben (January 13, 2013). 1024:Bensen, Julian (March 20, 2013). 275:Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms 2795:Kuchera, Ben (January 4, 2014). 2687:Welsh, Oli (February 10, 2015). 2527:Sterling, Jim (April 11, 2014). 2502:"Unturned review (Early Access)" 2118:Gilyadov, Alex (July 26, 2017). 2029:Horti, Samuel (August 1, 2018). 1863:Walker, Alex (January 5, 2016). 1403: 1236:Nutt, Christian (May 19, 2016). 1104:Nutt, Christian (May 13, 2016). 1076:Wawro, Alex (January 28, 2016). 579:Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord 431:5th edition Dungeons and Dragons 372:Notable games using early access 3062: 3034: 3001: 2983:"Early Access games done right" 2975: 2947: 2921: 2875:"HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON STEAM" 2866: 2840: 2814: 2788: 2762: 2734: 2706: 2680: 2654: 2628: 2602: 2579: 2553: 2520: 2494: 2468: 2447:Boudreau, Ian (June 30, 2018). 2440: 2411: 2383: 2327: 2299: 2273: 2247: 2219: 2191: 2165: 2139: 2083: 2055: 1994: 1968: 1912: 1884: 1856: 1791: 1734: 1658: 1637:Orland, Kyle (March 20, 2014). 1609:Welch, Chris (March 20, 2013). 1581:Williams, Mike (May 24, 2013). 1543: 1515: 1487: 1454: 1397: 1369: 1341: 1313: 1285: 1257: 1229: 1203: 1177: 1151: 1125: 995:"Alphafunding - The New Trend?" 909:Ralph, Nate (October 2, 2013). 251:devices, starting in mid-2016. 146:raised from these early sales. 2610:"Double Fine™ - Action Forums" 2226:Li, Roland (January 3, 2021). 1835:Green, Holly (June 24, 2016). 1494:Chalk, Andy (April 11, 2018). 1461:Gies, Arthur (March 3, 2016). 1376:Kuchera, Ben (April 5, 2017). 1097: 1069: 1043: 1017: 986: 967:Orland, Kyle (April 6, 2011). 960: 935: 162:credit card and services like 1: 2902:Prell, S. (August 26, 2014). 2334:Grubb, Jeff (June 23, 2017). 2062:Bratt, Chris (May 14, 2015). 1522:Martin, Matt (June 6, 2017). 1158:Graft, Kris (July 10, 2014). 864: 702:PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds 587:PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds 2662:"About Early Access Reviews" 677: 570:followed a similar model to 363:), makes use of proprietary 47:, is a funding model in the 7: 2090:Smith, Adam (May 4, 2017). 1919:Kerr, Chris (May 8, 2018). 1050:Tach, Dave (May 19, 2014). 854:Crowdfunding in video games 847: 203:Sony Computer Entertainment 156: 10: 3139: 761:final release. Games with 383: 85:was bundled with the game 66: 18: 2586:JP (November 24, 2014). 406: 184:digital rights management 174:added an early access to 73:non-disclosure agreements 3103:Early access video games 331:Fortnite: Save the World 3113:Video game distribution 2233:San Francisco Chronicle 659:Another example is the 3123:Video game development 341:Mass Effect: Andromeda 299:Mass Effect: Andromeda 110:alpha or beta releases 2475:Hernandez, Patricia. 1705:on February 23, 2017. 947:MIT Technology Review 823:Ark: Survival Evolved 414:Ark: Survival Evolved 3118:Video game marketing 2616:on February 21, 2015 1674:. September 18, 2018 1138:Penny Arcade Reports 740:Kerbal Space Program 567:Kerbal Space Program 212:Dungeon Defenders II 3022:on October 10, 2015 2989:. February 27, 2015 999:Indie Game Magazine 923:on October 16, 2013 508:Oxygen Not Included 49:video game industry 2153:. October 15, 2019 2097:Rock Paper Shotgun 1954:The Globe and Mail 497:Klei Entertainment 355:Steam Early Access 280:Ghost Recon Online 278:(previously named 53:development cycles 3048:GamesIndustry.biz 2961:GamesIndustry.biz 2853:GamesIndustry.biz 1671:GamesIndustry.biz 1588:GamesIndustry.biz 1271:GamesIndustry.biz 422:Baldur's Gate III 217:Xbox Game Preview 127:internet browsers 3130: 3108:Software release 3088: 3087: 3085: 3083: 3066: 3060: 3059: 3057: 3055: 3038: 3032: 3031: 3029: 3027: 3018:. Archived from 3005: 2999: 2998: 2996: 2994: 2979: 2973: 2972: 2970: 2968: 2951: 2945: 2944: 2942: 2940: 2925: 2919: 2918: 2916: 2914: 2899: 2890: 2889: 2887: 2885: 2870: 2864: 2863: 2861: 2859: 2844: 2838: 2837: 2835: 2833: 2818: 2812: 2811: 2809: 2807: 2792: 2786: 2785: 2783: 2781: 2766: 2760: 2759: 2757: 2755: 2738: 2732: 2731: 2729: 2727: 2710: 2704: 2703: 2701: 2699: 2684: 2678: 2677: 2675: 2673: 2668:. April 22, 2014 2658: 2652: 2651: 2649: 2647: 2632: 2626: 2625: 2623: 2621: 2612:. 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Archived from 906: 897: 896: 894: 892: 877: 793:Prison Architect 647:Earth: Year 2066 641:Unfinished games 600:Prison Architect 552:Epic Games Store 548:Supergiant Games 347:Battlefield 2042 152: 136: 31:, also known as 3138: 3137: 3133: 3132: 3131: 3129: 3128: 3127: 3093: 3092: 3091: 3081: 3079: 3067: 3063: 3053: 3051: 3039: 3035: 3025: 3023: 3006: 3002: 2992: 2990: 2981: 2980: 2976: 2966: 2964: 2952: 2948: 2938: 2936: 2926: 2922: 2912: 2910: 2900: 2893: 2883: 2881: 2871: 2867: 2857: 2855: 2845: 2841: 2831: 2829: 2819: 2815: 2805: 2803: 2793: 2789: 2779: 2777: 2767: 2763: 2753: 2751: 2739: 2735: 2725: 2723: 2711: 2707: 2697: 2695: 2685: 2681: 2671: 2669: 2660: 2659: 2655: 2645: 2643: 2633: 2629: 2619: 2617: 2608: 2607: 2603: 2584: 2580: 2570: 2568: 2558: 2554: 2544: 2542: 2541:on May 31, 2014 2525: 2521: 2511: 2509: 2508:. July 17, 2014 2500: 2499: 2495: 2485: 2483: 2473: 2469: 2459: 2457: 2445: 2441: 2431: 2429: 2428:. Gamer Network 2416: 2412: 2402: 2400: 2388: 2384: 2374: 2372: 2360: 2356: 2346: 2344: 2332: 2328: 2318: 2316: 2304: 2300: 2290: 2288: 2278: 2274: 2264: 2262: 2252: 2248: 2238: 2236: 2224: 2220: 2210: 2208: 2196: 2192: 2182: 2180: 2170: 2166: 2156: 2154: 2145: 2144: 2140: 2130: 2128: 2116: 2112: 2102: 2100: 2088: 2084: 2074: 2072: 2060: 2056: 2046: 2044: 2027: 2023: 2013: 2011: 1999: 1995: 1985: 1983: 1973: 1969: 1959: 1957: 1945: 1941: 1931: 1929: 1917: 1913: 1903: 1901: 1889: 1885: 1875: 1873: 1861: 1857: 1847: 1845: 1833: 1820: 1810: 1808: 1796: 1792: 1782: 1780: 1768: 1761: 1751: 1749: 1739: 1735: 1725: 1723: 1715: 1714: 1710: 1691: 1687: 1677: 1675: 1664: 1663: 1659: 1649: 1647: 1635: 1631: 1621: 1619: 1607: 1603: 1593: 1591: 1579: 1572: 1562: 1560: 1548: 1544: 1534: 1532: 1520: 1516: 1506: 1504: 1492: 1488: 1478: 1476: 1459: 1455: 1445: 1443: 1431: 1424: 1414: 1412: 1402: 1398: 1388: 1386: 1374: 1370: 1360: 1358: 1346: 1342: 1332: 1330: 1318: 1314: 1304: 1302: 1290: 1286: 1276: 1274: 1262: 1258: 1248: 1246: 1234: 1230: 1220: 1218: 1208: 1204: 1194: 1192: 1182: 1178: 1168: 1166: 1156: 1152: 1142: 1140: 1130: 1126: 1116: 1114: 1102: 1098: 1088: 1086: 1074: 1070: 1060: 1058: 1048: 1044: 1034: 1032: 1022: 1018: 1008: 1006: 1005:on May 15, 2013 991: 987: 977: 975: 965: 961: 951: 949: 941: 940: 936: 926: 924: 907: 900: 890: 888: 878: 871: 867: 850: 799:Darkest Dungeon 769:Invisible, Inc. 709:; at the time, 707:The Game Awards 680: 643: 502:Invisible, Inc. 462:Darkest Dungeon 409: 386: 376:In addition to 374: 357: 236:Elite Dangerous 159: 150: 134: 133:(approximately 77:software piracy 69: 24: 21:expanded access 17: 12: 11: 5: 3136: 3126: 3125: 3120: 3115: 3110: 3105: 3090: 3089: 3061: 3033: 3000: 2974: 2946: 2920: 2891: 2865: 2839: 2813: 2787: 2761: 2733: 2705: 2679: 2653: 2627: 2601: 2594:) – via 2578: 2552: 2519: 2493: 2467: 2439: 2410: 2382: 2354: 2326: 2298: 2272: 2246: 2218: 2190: 2164: 2138: 2110: 2082: 2054: 2021: 1993: 1967: 1939: 1911: 1883: 1855: 1818: 1790: 1759: 1733: 1717:"Star Citizen" 1708: 1685: 1657: 1629: 1601: 1570: 1542: 1514: 1486: 1453: 1422: 1396: 1368: 1340: 1312: 1284: 1256: 1228: 1202: 1176: 1150: 1124: 1096: 1068: 1042: 1016: 985: 959: 934: 898: 868: 866: 863: 862: 861: 856: 849: 846: 841:Risk of Rain 2 835:Slay the Spire 775:Nuclear Throne 755:Spacebase DF-9 679: 676: 667:Steam Workshop 662:Spacebase DF-9 642: 639: 638: 637: 629: 621: 612: 608:Slay the Spire 604: 596: 583: 575: 563: 539: 532:Save the World 518: 487: 475: 467: 458: 446: 434: 427:Larian Studios 418: 408: 405: 404: 403: 395: 385: 382: 373: 370: 356: 353: 305:Sea of Thieves 158: 155: 125:initially for 123:Markus Persson 68: 65: 37:alpha founding 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 3135: 3124: 3121: 3119: 3116: 3114: 3111: 3109: 3106: 3104: 3101: 3100: 3098: 3078: 3077: 3072: 3065: 3050: 3049: 3044: 3037: 3021: 3017: 3016: 3011: 3004: 2988: 2984: 2978: 2963: 2962: 2957: 2950: 2935: 2931: 2924: 2909: 2905: 2898: 2896: 2884:September 25, 2880: 2876: 2869: 2854: 2850: 2843: 2828: 2824: 2817: 2802: 2798: 2791: 2776: 2772: 2765: 2750: 2749: 2744: 2737: 2722: 2721: 2716: 2709: 2694: 2690: 2683: 2667: 2663: 2657: 2646:September 22, 2642: 2638: 2631: 2615: 2611: 2605: 2597: 2593: 2589: 2582: 2567: 2563: 2556: 2540: 2536: 2535: 2530: 2523: 2507: 2503: 2497: 2482: 2478: 2471: 2456: 2455: 2450: 2443: 2427: 2426: 2421: 2414: 2399: 2398: 2393: 2386: 2371: 2370: 2365: 2358: 2343: 2342: 2337: 2330: 2315: 2314: 2309: 2302: 2287: 2283: 2276: 2261: 2257: 2250: 2235: 2234: 2229: 2222: 2211:September 20, 2207: 2206: 2201: 2194: 2179: 2175: 2168: 2152: 2148: 2142: 2127: 2126: 2121: 2114: 2099: 2098: 2093: 2086: 2071: 2070: 2065: 2058: 2042: 2038: 2037: 2032: 2025: 2010: 2009: 2004: 1997: 1982: 1978: 1971: 1956: 1955: 1950: 1943: 1928: 1927: 1922: 1915: 1900: 1899: 1894: 1887: 1872: 1871: 1866: 1859: 1844: 1843: 1838: 1831: 1829: 1827: 1825: 1823: 1807: 1806: 1801: 1794: 1779: 1778: 1773: 1766: 1764: 1748: 1744: 1737: 1722: 1718: 1712: 1704: 1700: 1696: 1689: 1678:September 18, 1673: 1672: 1667: 1661: 1646: 1645: 1640: 1633: 1618: 1617: 1612: 1605: 1590: 1589: 1584: 1577: 1575: 1559: 1558: 1553: 1546: 1531: 1530: 1525: 1518: 1503: 1502: 1497: 1490: 1474: 1470: 1469: 1464: 1457: 1442: 1441: 1436: 1429: 1427: 1411: 1407: 1400: 1385: 1384: 1379: 1372: 1357: 1356: 1351: 1344: 1329: 1328: 1323: 1316: 1301: 1300: 1295: 1288: 1273: 1272: 1267: 1260: 1245: 1244: 1239: 1232: 1221:September 25, 1217: 1213: 1206: 1195:September 25, 1191: 1187: 1180: 1165: 1161: 1154: 1139: 1135: 1128: 1113: 1112: 1107: 1100: 1085: 1084: 1079: 1072: 1057: 1053: 1046: 1031: 1027: 1020: 1004: 1000: 996: 989: 974: 970: 963: 948: 944: 938: 922: 918: 917: 916:Computerworld 912: 905: 903: 887: 883: 876: 874: 869: 860: 857: 855: 852: 851: 845: 843: 842: 837: 836: 831: 830: 825: 824: 819: 818: 813: 812: 811:Infinifactory 807: 806: 801: 800: 795: 794: 789: 788: 783: 782: 777: 776: 771: 770: 764: 758: 756: 751: 749: 745: 741: 735: 732: 727: 726: 720: 718: 717: 712: 711:Battlegrounds 708: 704: 703: 696: 694: 693: 687: 686: 675: 672: 668: 664: 663: 657: 655: 654: 648: 635: 634: 630: 627: 626: 625:The Long Dark 622: 618: 617: 613: 610: 609: 605: 602: 601: 597: 593: 592:Battlegrounds 589: 588: 584: 581: 580: 576: 573: 569: 568: 564: 561: 557: 553: 549: 545: 544: 540: 537: 534:" story mode 533: 528: 524: 523: 519: 516: 515: 510: 509: 504: 503: 498: 493: 492: 488: 485: 481: 480: 476: 473: 472: 468: 464: 463: 459: 456: 452: 451: 447: 444: 440: 439: 435: 432: 428: 424: 423: 419: 416: 415: 411: 410: 401: 400: 396: 393: 392: 388: 387: 381: 379: 369: 366: 362: 352: 349: 348: 343: 342: 335: 333: 332: 327: 326: 321: 320: 314: 309: 307: 306: 301: 300: 295: 294: 288: 283: 281: 277: 276: 271: 267: 266: 261: 257: 252: 250: 246: 242: 238: 237: 232: 231: 230:The Long Dark 226: 222: 218: 214: 213: 208: 207:PlayStation 4 204: 199: 196: 195:Humble Bundle 191: 189: 185: 181: 177: 173: 169: 165: 154: 149: 144: 140: 132: 128: 124: 120: 119: 113: 111: 105: 102: 98: 92: 90: 89: 84: 83: 78: 74: 64: 62: 58: 54: 50: 46: 42: 38: 34: 30: 26: 22: 3080:. 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Index

expanded access
video game industry
development cycles
indie games
crowdfunding
non-disclosure agreements
software piracy
Halo 3
Crackdown
Kickstarter
Patreon
alpha or beta releases
Minecraft
Markus Persson
internet browsers
euros
Mojang
PayPal
Desura
Valve
Steam
GOG.com
digital rights management
itch.io
Humble Bundle
Sony Computer Entertainment
PlayStation 4
Dungeon Defenders II
Xbox Game Preview
Xbox One

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