Playing a video game that's finished and released to the public is one thing, but what if you could give titles a play-through while they were still in active development? Starting today, Valve is giving users of its Steam platform just that opportunity. Steam Early Access is a new initiative that lets gamers purchase, play, and offer feedback on games before their underlying code has been finalized. The program is kicking off with 12 titles (including one called Drunken Robot Pornography) from a variety of developers.
Of the first batch of games, only one is offered for free, with most falling somewhere between $6.99 and $32.99 depending on their scope. Keep in mind that although included titles aren't completed yet, Early Access lets you experience games in their entirety throughout the development process — these aren't merely glorified demos or trials. "These are games that evolve as you play them, as you give feedback, and as the developers update and add content," writes Valve on a page explaining the new program. "We like to support and encourage developers who want to ship early, involve customers, and build lasting relationships that help everyone make better games."
Early Access grants participating developers plenty of flexibility; they can discount a game still in its early stages only to hike the price up as development concludes, for instance. Gamers are encouraged to provide feedback, post in discussion forums, capture screenshots, and even write guides depending on what a developer is looking for. None of that is required, of course, but what's the fun in that? You'll want to head here for the list of Steam's first dozen Early Access games.
Comments
I encourage everyone to try Kerbal Space Program, really fun and addicting with many new features being added almost every month.
By SyncV2 on 03.20.13 4:15pm
I came here to say the same thing. Fantastic game.
By thranx on 03.20.13 5:24pm
I am not sure if that would help the game…
…you know the “first impression rule”
By DivahEngine on 03.20.13 4:19pm
On the Xbox, games get released as beta demos all the time and it rarely seems to be detrimental. I think as long as developers are smart and don’t release too early, it should be fine.
By ZephyrXero on 03.20.13 5:29pm
Finally the day has come where I can pay to Beta test a game.
Edit: Although discounting off full price is good.
By steakwich on 03.20.13 4:24pm
Portal for steam for Ubuntu please.
By Zecharixs on 03.20.13 4:25pm
It’s not just for Ubuntu anymore. Lots of linux distros are supported now, including ones far better than Ubuntu.
By molecule-eye on 03.21.13 6:58am
It’s coming.
By johndrinkwater on 03.21.13 8:58am
I heard Origin has a similar feature.
By LOLDSFAN on 03.20.13 4:26pm
I see what you did there.
By ZanDatsu on 03.20.13 4:44pm
Well played.
By peaceprize on 03.20.13 4:58pm
As opposed to Sim City, which could not be played.
By Danrarbc on 03.20.13 5:00pm
Origin IS a similar feature ;)
By gregorypierce on 03.20.13 4:59pm
Could this development have any connection to the reports on twitter that Valve has revoked “press access” for a number of game journalists? Could this be replacing it?
By mehughes124 on 03.20.13 4:32pm
While I think this is great, I think that this should have come out at the same time as Greenlight. Unfortunately, a lot of developers used Greenlight as a platform to bring in support for their (unfinished) games.
By tobeannouncd on 03.20.13 4:58pm
First they come up with online gaming, then they start charging for it.
Then they come up with Dowloadable Content, then start charging for ’em.
Next, they come up with Free-to-play games with in-app payments.. But frequently still charge for the base game, even though there is NO WAY to beat the game without shelling a couple more bucks to unlock stuff.
Now they start charging to play Beta’ s and HELP THEM figuring out how to make it good.
Makes sense.
By Francois Roy on 03.20.13 5:00pm
By them you mean us I take it, as in humans, not steam and valve?
By cy.starkman on 03.20.13 6:00pm
I hope to God that film-makers don’t start doing this.
By jaga on 03.20.13 5:32pm
They already release unfinished movies to the public.
By infinit_zero on 03.20.13 6:14pm
I’m enjoying Don’t Starve in its beta form. It’s not listed as part of this early access program but it’s available to purchase before its official release next month. I don’t really understand why, it was gifted to me.
Think Minecraft meets Toe Jam and Earl. Quite enjoyable.
By Adam Isenik on 03.20.13 5:42pm
Please go buy Kerbal Space Program, it’s great.
By Mendelson9 on 03.20.13 8:48pm
Torrenting it is just as great, and many times it’s actually faster and more reliable than Squad.
I don’t like how Squad (developers of KSP) keep calling it early access. Many games are updated after “official release.” Is World of Warcraft still in beta? No? But what’s the distinction between the two? I cannot support a company that would lie to its customers. I won’t accept EA lying to me, and I won’t accept Squad lying to me. Call it what it is: a game that is getting updated content periodically. It’s not “early access,” it’s just “access.”
By mh1 on 03.21.13 2:08pm
Actually, for WoW at least each patch goes to beta servers for testing before being added to the main realms. As of this post beta servers are hosting version 5.3 while the current stable version is still 5.2.
The difference is that when games are updated after official release, those updates are beta tested before being added to the general public copies. This Early Access setup is the beta testing so any bugs that are introduced by a change haven’t been found and squashed yet. You get to be there and see the game, bugs and all, before the bugs are squashed and the features finalized.
By Michiyo Sentakubunya on 03.25.13 6:16pm
Title change…Steam Early Access lets gamers BUY and BETA Test titles still in development.
By uxo22 on 03.20.13 8:58pm
I used to get paid to beta test games, now they want me to pay them? No thanks…
By Denarius on 03.21.13 1:37am