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[rubenburgt]

Recently Overwatch 2 got released but it is clearly an unfinished game. It still has a lot of bugs and server issues.

You might think this is what an early access game is, right?

But it also replaced the first game, had a working in-game shop and is being used in their esport scene.

Its weird an early access game has this, right?

So what exactly is "early access"?
Is it a marketing tactic? A way to release games early and fix them later?

 

[Thief1987]

Is Overwatch 2 labeled as an early access game?
I think in general it means that game is still deep in development, but devs want some kind of community's involvment in the process.

 

[TrebleShot]

Access to MVP the minimum viable product so that they build and adapt to the first major release based on customer feedback and don’t spend millions on making something people don’t like.

 

[WoJ]

What is an early access game? Most modern games at launch.

 

[Ribi]

an excuse for devs to make money on an unfinished product that is really just a game as a service.

 

[Knightime_X]

A game in beta and sometimes in alpha stage, released before ver. 1.0 is a thing.
Early access would've never been a thing had people stopped begging for it.

In recent times, E.A. is gaming clay that has yet to be finalized.
Basically you release something, people either praise or bitch about something, and it's easier to change as you go.
Early access is devs listening to customers closely. Mostly.

 

[AJUMP23]

Access that is early.

 

[daveonezero]

Access to an alpha release.

 

[AJUMP23]

It is when you show up early to breakfast and get some eggs.


Oh wait that is early eggses.

 

[Dee Dah Dave]

An alternate word for sodomy.

 

[nikos]

What bugs and server issues does Overwatch 2 have? I've been playing it a ton since release. Aside from the first couple of days, I haven't had a single issue.

 

[IFireflyl]

Virtually every game is now Early Access at launch. Welcome to 2022.

 

[Rykan]

It is a marketing term and essentially allows you to launch a game twice.

You'll first get the initial hype/buzz from an Early Access launch, and then another one from the "Full release". That's all there is to it, really. You basically give your game two chances to get into the spotlight instead of just one.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

A way to release the game early so gamers can test it out. Key difference is that "early access" is a new term where they can set new rules, including charging money to play (which some do).

But no studio will ever charge money for a "demo" download.

 

[LectureMaster]

An early access

 

[lh032]

incomplete game.

 

[01011001]

"we want an excuse for why out game is shit"

that's what it usually means, especially if it's not a small indy dev doing it but a AA or AAA studio

 

[Elder Legend]

It is when you show up early to breakfast and get some eggs.


Oh wait that is early eggses.

Did you know that GymWolf ate eggs in the morning as part of his protein meal plan but he didn't know that I knew that tommib knew that you didn't know that I knew about this?

 

[_Ex_]

"Early Access" = You pay to be a beta tester.

 

[Aenima]

Early Access are usually games that did not reached the version 1.0 yet.

 

[RyRy93]

It seems that 'Early Access' has become a bit of a misnomer these days to describe GaaS products while having an excuse that can deflect any criticism.

Guy 1: "The balance and economy is fucked up in this multiplayer game'

Guy 2: 'But it's 'Early Access'

 

[Ozzie666]

Unpaid beta testing and balancing, just another excuse for companies to release incomplete software.

 

[sertopico]

It's a parallel dimension where people do beta testing for free (sometimes not) and feel cool to do so thanks to marketing.

 

[ahtlas7]

Somewhere between 0.xxx and 1.xxx

 

[Sakura]

It's a way to get money without actually finishing the game.

 

[WhamBamThankYouMaam]

A way to make you pay for betatesting software and/or stress test a downscaled version of its cloud componebts.

 

[ikbalCO]

Mostly this;

 

[GymWolf]

It's how we call bethesda games when they are "finished".

 

[Skifi28]

Early access is something understandable for small studios that need the extra funding to continue development and finish the game. Early access from huge corporations is a scam.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Early access is a game that’s in the early stages of development. It might just be a level or three. Gameplay might get overhauled. New weapons, levels, and enemies are added.

But you can buy in early and experience it through those stages, right up until it’s finished and released at full price.

Overwatch 2 is just a GaaS. It’s going to evolve over time, for the sake of keeping players on a hamster wheel buying microtransactions.

 

[Ozriel]

Bugs and server issues for online games are pretty much standard at this point. Hard to make a huge software product without getting any of those.

 

[Ozriel]

Early access is something understandable for small studios that need the extra funding to continue development and finish the game. Early access from huge corporations is a scam.

Nonsense.
Some of the early access period covers feedback to the devs to allow them build out the rest of the game in a way that benefits everyone.

 

[Nautilus]

Nowadays?

Early Acess is just a ploy to divert criticism from any game that has bugs, game breaking or not, that was clearly launched as the 1.0 version, without actually being so.


There are several "Early Acess" games that are cancelled if the "Early Acess launch" performs poorly. Its at that moment that the only fools that consider Early Acess games as "Games still in development" are the ones buying them.

 

[Skifi28]

Nonsense.
Some of the early access period covers feedback to the devs to allow them build out the rest of the game in a way that benefits everyone.

Uhm no, large studios have tons of experienced staff and internal testing exactly for that. They don't need little Timmy's feedback on how to make a good game, especially after they sell it to him. Early access from giants like Microsoft is a scam.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Recently Overwatch 2 got released but it is clearly an unfinished game. It still has a lot of bugs and server issues.

What lots of bugs are those that I didn't see any?

 

[AJUMP23]

Did you know that GymWolf ate eggs in the morning as part of his protein meal plan but he didn't know that I knew that tommib knew that you didn't know that I knew about this?

I love that we are still doing this.

 

[jaysius]

It’s an umbrella term that devs think absolves them of quality and responsibility for a good product, it’s typically accompanied by a roadmap which for small dev team is typically full of lies and overly ambitious, for a big team it’s usually not lies but the dates are unrealistic.

It’s also 85% of steam now.

Also a red flag for a game on Steam, so many games die now in Early Access essentially stealing the customer’s money. It’s a replacement for BegStarter(kickstarter).

 

[MiguelItUp]

Early Access is intended to be a form of release that allows you to both release the product, while also getting a good amount of feedback as it's still being developed. It's certainly not a bad thing IMO, it just all depends on how the dev utilizes it. Some feel genuine, some, not so much.

 

[thief183]

In our case early access was the only way we (2 persons) could manage to finish the game. We used to work 8 hours a day and than go back and work another 8 hours on the game, we were dieing inside. So we decide to sell the first part of the game so we managed to leave our Jobs and dedicate totally to the game. We know the game is not done, but we had to make something before we burned out.

 

[Victor Omega]

an excuse for devs to make money on an unfinished product that is really just a game as a service.

Who hurted you?

But he's right

 

[Evil Calvin]

Recently Overwatch 2 got released but it is clearly an unfinished game. It still has a lot of bugs and server issues.

You might think this is what an early access game is, right?

But it also replaced the first game, had a working in-game shop and is being used in their esport scene.

Its weird an early access game has this, right?

So what exactly is "early access"?
Is it a marketing tactic? A way to release games early and fix them later?

'early access' games are labeled as so, on Steam and other places on PC. Like Darkest Dungeon 2 and Baldur's Gate 3. Labelled as 'early access' and described as paying to access the game which is in development progress. Often progress resets when a new patch comes out.

When it's a 1.0 release or every console release, then it is a full game (the only one on console I was aware of is Grounded)

If a game on console seems like it's 'early access', it's not. It's just an unfinished mess.

 

[Ozriel]

Uhm no, large studios have tons of experienced staff and internal testing exactly for that. They don't need little Timmy's feedback on how to make a good game, especially after they sell it to him. Early access from giants like Microsoft is a scam.

Yes, they do. Internal testing is for technical issues. Pushing it out to the public gets feedback from millions of Timmys. This isn’t rocket science.

Microsoft - via Obsidian - recently used Early Access to fine tune and build Grounded, a project made by a very small team. They sold millions in early access, and got feedback from buyers. That’s way more testing that any internal team is going to give you. And that was a truly Early Access game since the game was being built at the time, directly implementing player feedback.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Recently Overwatch 2 got released but it is clearly an unfinished game. It still has a lot of bugs and server issues.

You might think this is what an early access game is, right?

But it also replaced the first game, had a working in-game shop and is being used in their esport scene.

Its weird an early access game has this, right?

So what exactly is "early access"?
Is it a marketing tactic? A way to release games early and fix them later?

Wut. I've played plenty of OW2 and haven't encountered a single bug. Server issues (mostly in the first few days following launch), yes, but no bugs.

As to why games are released in early access?

Why complete a game when you can sell something broken/incomplete and have people/sheep help fund the rest of development?

 

[Laptop1991]

It's an unfinished game, that no one should pay for before it's finished in my opinion, as the incentive to actually finish it diminishes as they are already and still being paid for it, Star Citizen is the perfect example, i don't think early access helps gaming personally.

 

[winjer]

Charge full price for an unfinished game.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Simply put, you paying money to be an alpha and/or beta tester.

 

[Pop]

An excuse for game companies to push out an unfinished product

 

[SLB1904]

"We run out of budget.. let's sell it!"

 

[rubenburgt]

Wut. I've played plenty of OW2 and haven't encountered a single bug.

What bugs and server issues does Overwatch 2 have?

What lots of bugs are those that I didn't see any?

• Mei's IceWall has multiple bugs
• Kirito can teleport outside the map
• Screen gets blurry
• Sombra's hacked highlight is in the wrong order
• Some players ends with a negative currency when they used the shop.

Some of these bugs are affecting gameplay.

 

[Fredrik]

It’s a buggy game you should stay far away from to not ruin a game you could otherwise end up enjoying.

I played Wreckfest when it was New Car Game. Worst idea ever, I still have trouble playing the final release, I’m just tired of it all even without playing much at all.