Steam - The Early Access Scheme

"Discover, play, and get involved with games as they evolve." - Steam Early Access Page

Steam Early Access is a way for the developers to interact directly with the community. The game that is being sold is usually always unfinished, and is actively play tested by gamers, who then submit feedback for the developer to update their game with popular suggestions. It's a great way for the developers to create hype for their game and ensure that they are making a product that people will like.

To play an early access game, players must buy into it, as a means to fund the game's continued development. Steam always warns that early access may be unfinished, buggy or have serious issues.

These early access games as a result will evolve as you play them, as you give feedback, and as the developers update and add content to their game. Developers like the idea of games and game development as services that grow with the involvement of customers as well as the community. There have been quite a few titles that have greatly benefited from Steam's Early Access Scheme. Steam would like to support and encourage developers who want to ship early, involve the customers and develop a game that has been created with a larger than average input from the community, to truly create a game that they can love.

A lot of people think that this is the way games should be made, as it allows a game to be handcrafted to the community's wants and needs. It truly creates a game that can be thoroughly enjoyed and worth the accompanying price tag.

However Steam Early Access has been abused, in cases such as Earth: Year 2066 when the game had been accused by the community that the product page was misleading and that there were nearly no regular updates to the game. The game was labeled "broken" and unfit for sale, and as such Steam removed the game from Early Access and issued refunds to disgruntled customers.

Hammerpoint Interactive's The War Z was also removed from sale on Steam after the developer was accused of lying on the game's Steam page. War Z also had it's named changed due to a trade mark issue in relation to Brad Pritt's film World War Z after it was brought back as a fully finished product onto Steam.

As a result Valve/Steam has come under fire by consumers due to developers abusing the Early Access Scheme. Games such as Rust, DayZ and Starbound have used Early Access as it should, and as a result have greatly benefited from the scheme. But Early Access is not without it controversies as well.

I personally find it despicable that developers are abusing the system that is giving them a helping hand. These are professionals, yet they are trying to cheat their customers. Customers can be a bit dull sometimes but there is a line where they realise that they are being played for fools. In the end, it only tarnishes and destroys any reputation the developer may have had, and tarnish some of the developer's potential careers in the industry once they have been known to cheat "the hand that feeds them" so to speak. Steam/Valve has made stricter rules in regards to Early Access, but still strongly advises that customers only buy into an early access game should they be satisfied with the current content and game-play quality.