Daybreak Games Believes Early Access Is Good For The Entire Games Industry
Much like pre-orders, gamers tend to have mixed feelings about the entire concept of Early Access. For some, it's worth it to be able to get in there early and enjoy some perks while supporting a game they feel pretty strongly will be worth their time in the long run. For others... It's a scam. Whatever you feel about it, a lot of companies are embracing the entire concept of Early Access for one reason or another.
Daybreak Games -- who when still flying under the banner of SOE was free-to-play all the way -- is one of those companies. Recently, the company's Chief Publishing Officer, Laura Naviaux Sturr, spoke with Games Industry about this shift, saying that the model is ideal for games with longer product life cycles and that it encourages and empowers the community more -- allowing them more involvement with the development process.
She did note that the model isn't for everyone, but she does expect more companies to start using it -- especially non-AAA games that don't have to make it to publication at a specific time. Her belief is that like free-to-play, early access is a good option for the industry to have.
"You really have to commit as a developer... the development team really has to ingest that feedback into the work flow and be able to pivot and course correct and make adjustments and I think that that's one thing that Daybreak does really well is that we are fairly nimble. We've been doing games as a service since our inception. It's in our DNA."
Sturr also added that the company is making the shift in models due to the fact that it's not a "one-size-fits-all" situation, and that while some of their games benefit from the company's traditional free-to-play models, others -- such as H1Z1 -- do not.
Related Articles
- Although The Darkpaw Celebration Has Been Going All Year, EverQuest 2 Turns 20 This Week With A Free Anniversary Mount
- The Halloween Celebrations Have Arrived In Daybreak’s Games Including DCUO, Planetside 2, DDO, & More
- Time For Halloween's Nights Of The Dead In EverQuest And The Descriptions Are Just Pun-Tastic
About the Author
QuintLyn is a long-time lover of all things video game related will happily talk about them to anyone that will listen. She began writing about games for various gaming sites a little over ten years ago and has taken on various roles in the games community.
More Stories by QuintLyn BowersDiscussion (16)
Read Next
Obsidian Entertainment is bringing out the big guns for its next update, which brings heavy-hitting Tier 10 tanks to the world of Armored Warfare. As Armored Warfare takes place in the 2030s, the Tier 10 tanks represent veh...
You May Enjoy
The update adds new story content, raids, and more.
I'm very hopeful for this F2P Madden alternative, but I hate how the early access is monetized already.
Engage in ground combat and affect the largest player-drive war in Eve’s history.
Seeing the Drumstick of Death flail skin is actually hysterical.
If you get in Landmark and want help to understand how to build just send me a tell in game. I and many others would be glad to help a new player.
They recently wiped the Landmark closed beta and removed certain items that players had previously purchased with Daybreak Cash, giving them refunds in a new game resource called Lumens.
They wouldn't say what the exchange rate of Daybreak Cash to Lumens was (or will be), and you cannot use Lumens to repurchase removed items in the store because they're just another game resource, like dirt and wood.
And to make matters even worse, they jacked up the price of an important item they'd removed from players by over 60%. But within a couple of weeks of abysmal sales figures, they dropped the price back down 60% and refused to refund the difference to players who had just paid the high price.
IN A CLOSED BETA IN-GAME STORE!
Good for game companies, bad for consumers.
I have problems with cash grab early access / founder pack BS.
Warframe, Robocraft, and Fractured Space are good examples of a real early access, where systems underwent massive changes, and where players could expect changes based on their feedback.
Funny how the actual indie / small time developers use early access and founder packs the right way, and big time companies like daybreak / trion / aeria exploit it for the cash grab.
|
Just release an alpha version and hope everyone who paid for it forgets about it once a new shiny game comes out.