- Jan 14, 2020
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This is just a common sense rule about buying indie games in early access that it appears a lot of gamers don't consider. Not considering this leads to a lot of disappointment.
If you happen across an early access game, especially one you had never heard of, that looks great to you, before you buy it, you need to check on a couple very important things: when did the game release and how many user reviews does it have.
If the game just released within the last couple of days and there are very few user reviews (under 250), wait awhile before you buy it. The key thing that you are looking for is how many people are buying the game.
Why do you care if other people are buying the game if you are convinced that you will like it? Because the game is in early access and if it has been out a couple of weeks and doesn't have many user reviews, then the game is a sales failure and it's unlikely that the developer(s) will actually finish developing the game. In fact, they may have already stopped developing it even if it's just a few days after launch.
Not all developers give up so easily. If the game only has a few reviews, my suggestion is to keep it in mind and check back every now and then to see if it is still being updated.
How many sales are enough? That's impossible to say and depends on the developer, but an analyst quoted by PC Gamer said that a game's long term sales success (for these types of indie games) seems to hinge on whether the game gets to 250 user reviews in the first thirty days. Obviously, if it's a bigger studio, that won't be enough, but it's a good number to look for when you are dealing with tiny teams and solo devs.
If you happen across an early access game, especially one you had never heard of, that looks great to you, before you buy it, you need to check on a couple very important things: when did the game release and how many user reviews does it have.
If the game just released within the last couple of days and there are very few user reviews (under 250), wait awhile before you buy it. The key thing that you are looking for is how many people are buying the game.
Why do you care if other people are buying the game if you are convinced that you will like it? Because the game is in early access and if it has been out a couple of weeks and doesn't have many user reviews, then the game is a sales failure and it's unlikely that the developer(s) will actually finish developing the game. In fact, they may have already stopped developing it even if it's just a few days after launch.
Not all developers give up so easily. If the game only has a few reviews, my suggestion is to keep it in mind and check back every now and then to see if it is still being updated.
How many sales are enough? That's impossible to say and depends on the developer, but an analyst quoted by PC Gamer said that a game's long term sales success (for these types of indie games) seems to hinge on whether the game gets to 250 user reviews in the first thirty days. Obviously, if it's a bigger studio, that won't be enough, but it's a good number to look for when you are dealing with tiny teams and solo devs.
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