Responsible Steam Early Access

Making the most of Steam Early AccessBy: Tomer Barkan, Founder

About meJudgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation

www.suncrash.com

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@tomerbarkan

Today’s Lecture

• What is Steam Early Access• Why Early Access – pros and cons• Is Early Access right for me?• Am I ready for Early Access?• During Early Access• Releasing from Early Access

What is Steam Early Access

• Public alpha program• Not crowdfunding

• Remember: people pay to PLAY your game

Why Early AccessPros

• Feedback and improving• Testing the waters• More exposure on Steam• Funding *

Why Early AccessCons

• Weaker final launch (???)• Less flexibility• May lose key players• Reviews stay in final release

“1 month for this update. Well, it's time to write a bad review. Completely unhappy about the purchase. :( ” Early Access

Player

Is Early Access Right for Me?

• Is my game a good fit?• Replayable games• Story based games• Requires strong launch (Multiplayer)• Research similar games

• Do I depend on sales?• Alternatives?

Early Access tags - Steam Spy

Am I ready for early access?

• Researching similar games• Already enjoyable• Stable enough• Trends

• Usual release considerations

“When your game enters EA, gamers seem to treat it in the same way as non-EA games”Steam S

py

During Early Access

• Listen – and show it• Communicate and engage• Don’t make promises• Analytics• Frequent updates• Be honest and open

Releasing from Early Access

• Only release when ready• Release with a bang

Additional Reading

• Steam Spy – On Early Access Games• Gamasutra

- 7 successful Early Access games that all developers should study

• Steam Dev Days – Is Early Access Right for You? (Video)

Questions?

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@tomerbarkan