Ashes Of Creation Changes Alpha Testing Buy-In Into Bundles Following Players’ “Glorious Feedback”

If you were paying attention to the internet this weekend, you might have seen some disgruntlement regarding Intrepid Studios’ plans for admitting players into alpha testing for Ashes of Creation. If you missed it, then the rundown is that the developer announced plans to charge players $150 for alpha access. This access would be restricted to alpha only and would not be carried over into beta. Nor would it have any benefits once the MMORPG launched.

Obviously, people weren’t exactly happy about this. Paying to access testing has become common because game developers really like our money, but purchasing access usually means you have access until the game launches, and there are usually other perks as well.

As it turns out, it didn’t take long for Intrepid to somewhat reverse course. Yesterday afternoon the company updated its news page with new testing bundles, citing “glorious feedback” from players. These new bundles range from $100 to $120 and vary in two ways. First, the more expensive the bundle, the sooner the purchaser is granted access to alpha testing. Those paying $120 will be allowed in on November 8, while those paying $100 will be granted access on May 1 of next year. Second, each bundle has a different date on which they can be purchased.

All three bundles now grant access to beta one and beta two, and include a one-month subscription to the game once it launches. The game won’t have a box price, so there’s no concern about game access beyond the sub. Players will also get $15 worth of in-game currency.

It’s better than paying $150 for just alpha access, but maybe players should consider not paying video game developers to access an unfinished game. Testing a game is part of the development job, and here we are paying them to let us do the work.