Do games cost less when theyre in early access?

[Jade]

maybe its just me but I remember that HLL cost less in ea?

[feytharn]

Some developers charge less for games in early access, but not all. I do not know if Hell let Loose (if I interpreted HLL correctly) was cheaper while in early access.

[Nx Machina]

Some games are full price in EA and will not increase in price upon release - Baldur's Gate 3 is one example.

I believe Wolcen increased in price for release but others may correct me on this as it was a title i looked at but did not purchase at the time nor afterwards.

[Crazy Tiger]

In my experience most get a price increase when they go 1.0. Some even get a price increase when a major update comes in the Early Access phase, to reflect that the content has grown a lot.

Hell Let Loose got a price increase when it went 1.0: https://steamdb.info/app/686810/

[Start_Running]

Sometimes
Sometimes they cost more, Relatively.
Sometimes they cost more absolutely.

[Brian9824]

Some do, others for instance like Baldurs Gate 3 were full price for EA.

[BloodShed]

For future reference.
Read the early access FAQ for each game (the blue banner on the game store page).
The "Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?" will answer your question.

Originally posted by Toby:

I think there was only one time where an early access game actually got cheaper over time (not talking about sales periods) And that was Planetary Annilation. They started out at $90, and then it would go down in price over time. Their reason for that is they didn't want to many people in the early access, so the high price was a barrier to entry.

The price for Planetary Annihilation was for fairness with kickstarter backers for a set period.

[happy]

Games usually have less common in EA, beside that, its kinda like a thank you to customers who buy the game in its early stages. Its pretty common these days, and i personally do not have an issue with it in most cases, where its apparent alot of content has been added since the game released in Early Access.

[Spawn of Totoro]

There is no yes or no answer, to be honest. It is up to each game developer how they wish to approach the matter. Some leave the price constant, others will increase the price. Some will add an in-game bonus for those who participated in Early Access, others may not.

Some may even lower the price after release. Not something I would personally agree with, but it is still an option open to them.

Just like some may have DLC while in Early Access and other choose not to.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by Toby:

I think there was only one time where an early access game actually got cheaper over time (not talking about sales periods) And that was Planetary Annilation. They started out at $90, and then it would go down in price over time. Their reason for that is they didn't want to many people in the early access, so the high price was a barrier to entry.

Frankly speaking, I feel like this ought to be how Steam does Early Access.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Originally posted by Toby:

I think there was only one time where an early access game actually got cheaper over time (not talking about sales periods) And that was Planetary Annilation. They started out at $90, and then it would go down in price over time. Their reason for that is they didn't want to many people in the early access, so the high price was a barrier to entry.

Frankly speaking, I feel like this ought to be how Steam does Early Access.

So you're saying that people should pay extra for the additional risk?

Well, I guess "more risk" could be considered an extra feature that won't be in the finished product...

[GuudBooi]

I think some games increased price as they came near to full release, to me it feels kinda fair to charge a price based on the amount of content a game is expected to have at that time when bought, but also if developers charge full price for a game that is also fine if they at the end deliver their product.

I am not sure but i do believe deep rock galactic was not always the price it is now before release from EA but was a bit cheaper,i may be wrong.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by Kargor:

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Frankly speaking, I feel like this ought to be how Steam does Early Access.

So you're saying that people should pay extra for the additional risk?

Well, I guess "more risk" could be considered an extra feature that won't be in the finished product...

I'm saying that Early Access games should be priced higher so that they actually attract only those people who are more seriously interested in supporting the project, and who will feel a sense of emotional investment in it after they've bought into it.

As opposed to people buying something early just to get it cheap.

This is less about "how much are you paying for?" and more about using the high price to limit the number of people who would buy to a dedicated fanbase.

[GuudBooi]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Originally posted by Kargor:

So you're saying that people should pay extra for the additional risk?

Well, I guess "more risk" could be considered an extra feature that won't be in the finished product...

I'm saying that Early Access games should be priced higher so that they actually attract only those people who are more seriously interested in supporting the project, and who will feel a sense of emotional investment in it after they've bought into it.

As opposed to people buying something early just to get it cheap.

This is less about "how much are you paying for?" and more about using the high price to limit the number of people who would buy to a dedicated fanbase.

Tbh why i get what you mean, early access is not only for feedback but also to push through a version of the project and start to get externall funding sometimes to have more stability, i think.

[wuddih]

move or die was more expensive during early access, with reasonable explanation .. but thats about the only popular outlier that i know of that went the "other" way.
the normal way is that most games will get more expensive during development or on release.

[Halo]

Originally posted by Toby:

I think there was only one time where an early access game actually got cheaper over time (not talking about sales periods) And that was Planetary Annilation. They started out at $90, and then it would go down in price over time. Their reason for that is they didn't want to many people in the early access, so the high price was a barrier to entry.

That is an interesting fact involving Uber Entertainment.

I remember something about the price, they abandoned the original game and then released it again finished to gouge the playerbase.

Adds to their seedy history - SMNC abandoned and left to rot for years before being shut down because of the EU data protection laws.

And the humiliation of a failed Kickstarter for Human Resources, rejected by a burnt community.

Nice to read - and I didn't know - that they changed their name and sank last year because of the pandemic.

Staff moved to Kerbal 2, so buyer beware of that.