Maybe Every Game Is 'Early Access'?

The Triple Click hosts—Maddie Myers, Jason Schreier, and Kirk Hamilton—explore early access, the practice of selling games still in development for player testing and feedback. Prompted by a Discord suggestion, they trace its rise around 2013 (with precursors like Minecraft alphas), share experiences, weigh pros and cons, and question if ongoing updates make every game effectively early access.

Early Experiences and Game Examples

Hosts recount playing early access titles that shaped their views. Maddie cites DayZ, which felt complete during its multi-year early access despite refinements, and Hades, minimal at first but transformed by added story and evolved combat upon 1.0 release. Jason points to Minecraft's alpha as proto-early access, ideal for systems-driven games where a demo reveals the core (unlike narrative-heavy ones). Kirk highlights Divinity: Original Sin (and sequels), featuring a full first act for testing, and notes Larian Studios' repeated success with this model—Baldur's Gate 3's Act 1 spent three years in early access, yielding polished systems and squashed bugs.