When I began working on my first Early Access title, I was very sceptical about the whole model. As a marketer, I feel that Early Access games are a bit harder to promote as opposed to full releases. The press doesn’t show much interest in Early Access games and the consumers behind Early Access titles have a different mentality too.
Usually, consumers aren’t that thrilled over EA titles – although that’s changing – and those that do take the bite have high expectations of close ownership of the product and the development process itself. And if you make a few bad moves along the way, your game is on the back burner. Not to mention how hard it is to gain review coverage in the press once you hit 1.0. So an Early Access title is a different beast.
Now after working on a few EA titles (Dinkum, Inkulinati, Medieval Dynasty, and a few more), I feel like Early Access is a fantastic model that can help build a strong community and a great final game. Sure, it’s not for every game type, and some of the drawbacks are still there. But it is a viable option if the game is right.
source https://www.gamesindustry.biz/marketing-tips-to-have-a-successful-early-access-phase
