Gamers expect more from Early Access today, say Windblown and Dead Cells creators

While the use of Early Access has soared in the past decade or so, the quality that gamers expect from such releases has increased, too. No longer can companies get away with buggy messes, and the developers at Motion Twin have noticed this advancement in expectations.

"The expectation is higher now than it was, like, five, six years ago, in terms of overall amount of content and polish in all cases," said Windblown designer Yannick Berthier in an interview with GamesRadar. "Windblown was already a game that was quite advanced into its development when we launched the early access. So that's important, that you start with a basis that is release-ready."

"They really want a real game," added designer Thomas Vasseur. "Even if it's not finished, the content has to be like it's finished, even if it's not. The small content you have at the beginning should be perfect for them. If not, this is a paid demo, and no one is happy with this. So I guess, yes, the expectations are very, very high right now with a lot of games in the past, like Hades, with a lot of quality at the beginning of the early access, so you have to make something that stands out."

There is an understanding from most players buying Early Access games that they're not getting a full product, but even so, Berthier notes that people are still spending money. "You will have players that will complain that the game is lacking some content or is not fully finished. There is a bit more, I think, now, but that's fair because, in a way, they are buying the game," he said.

Where do you stand on Early Access?