Pocketpair's publishing chief believes Early Access has “lost its meaning”, as more players treat unfinished games like full releases while some developers increasingly use the model as a way to fund ongoing development.
Early Access used to come with a fairly straightforward understanding: you're buying a game that isn't finished yet.
According to Pocketpair's communications and publishing chief John "Bucky" Buckley, that understanding is becoming increasingly blurred.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ following Palworld's graduation from Early Access, Buckley argued that Early Access has essentially “lost its meaning”, with changing gaming habits leading more players to approach Early Access releases as if they're finished products.
Buckley points towards what he describes as the migration of “hyper-casual” mobile and live-service gaming culture onto Steam.
Where Early Access players were once more likely to actively participate in development through feedback, bug reports and discussions with developers, he believes a growing number now simply buy the game, play it and judge it like any other release.
That can create an awkward situation for developers.
A player might spend weeks with an Early Access game and then wonder where the next major content update is — while the developers are still actually building the game.
Buckley used Palworld as an example, explaining that someone might play heavily for a couple of weeks before wondering why there isn't already another major content update.
From the developer's perspective, the answer is pretty simple: they're still making the game.
However, Buckley isn't placing all the responsibility on players.
He also believes Early Access has been “abused for a lot of reasons”, including developers releasing builds primarily because they need funding. He compared the practice to a modern version of Kickstarter - release what you have, generate money, and use that to continue development.
That doesn't mean Pocketpair has lost faith in the model.
The studio remains a strong supporter of Early Access and Buckley says it would likely use it again for another major project. Instead, his argument is that developers need to be transparent about what players are actually buying, while players may need a clearer understanding that Early Access really does mean work in progress.
It's an interesting problem.
When some Early Access games can already provide hundreds of hours of content, perhaps it's not surprising that the line between “unfinished game” and “live game waiting for its next update” has become increasingly difficult to see.
Keep Calm and waka waka...
