Navigating early access: legal and practical considerations

1 year 7 months ago

In recent years we have seen a number of studios continuing to eschew traditional launch in favour of early access: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Valheim were some of last year’s strongest titles, neither of which have yet seen a full launch.

An iterative release through early access is of course nothing new (think Minecraft circa 2009), and the benefits are undoubtedly appealing: developers can soft launch their game and test its viability directly with their target audience, all the while building a community and generating revenue for ongoing development.

However, what are the legal and practical considerations to launching in early access? And to what extent will developers/publishers’ obligations regarding their beta title differ compared to a version 1.0?

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Author
Anna Poulter-Jones