Ah, Early Access. It's an opportunity for developers to keep funding their game even as it's not finished. It's also a chance for players to sate their impatience — err — help with development. Ever since Steam launched that program nearly seven years ago, many developers have tried and even failed to fulfill their promises despite the transparency and increased revenue. As such, it's always a risk for players to invest in Early Access.
That hasn't deterred developers from using the function, however. Larian Games, known for producing the Divinity series, is using it for their next release Baldur's Gate 3. Those that have succeeded went down in the annals of video game history as masterpieces birthed by the union of the developers and the players. There are only a handful of such games.
Early Access titles that have withstood the test of time or gain popularity see their developers recuperate the game's costs even before release. Here are the best games based on their popularity proportionate to the time they spent in the proverbial Early Access oven.
10 Slay The Spire - 1 Year
A dynamic and novel trading card game isn't exactly something new nor would one think that it make players too excited. Still, Slay the Spire went above and beyond. Even with just one year in the Early Access development phase, it was able to sell around one million units by the time it was ready for release.
Much of this success is thanks to how the game blends CCG mechanics with humor and a lovely art style that will keep anyone coming back. Slay the Spire remains as one of the most highest-rated games on Steam and not much has tarnished its reputation even during Early Access.
9 Darkest Dungeon - 1 Year
Darkest Dungeon is no doubt a hard game and its development was also poetically riddled with similar challenges. Even so, the development team pulled through and managed to make the game even better when they entered the Early Access program not unlike how Supergiant Games did with Hades.
The team waited until they had something they can show to the community for feedback and improvement. This risk paid off and Darkest Dungeon has become a genre on its own with a second game on the way. The team kept improving through all the negative feedback brought about by their Early Access updates and changes.
8 Dead Cells - 1 Year
Speaking of difficult games, Dead Cells is another one since it's a roguelike game, but that didn't deter players from wanting it. Like Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord now, Dead Cells saw immense interest during Early Access. Developers sold nearly a million units of the game before the game was ready for release.
Right now, Dead Cells is considered one of the best roguelike games out there. The game pits the players in an ever-changing castle where the layout, contents, and even enemies change after each and every death. Progress also gets reset as players learn to cope with the perils of death.
7 Ark: Survival Evolved - 2 Years
Ark: Survival Evolved is one of the most successful survival games out there. It was also one of the hardest games to run on PC at one point. But when players see it in action, it's not hard to understand why. The game is gorgeous thanks to its prolonged development time.
Even back then, it actually sold a million copies during the first month of its Early Access phase. Two years later and it was sitting at nine million sales by the time it was ready to be released. That's what happens when someone puts a mountable T-Rex and other dinosaurs in a survival game.
6 Kerbal Space Program - 2 Years
Kerbal Space Program is one of the pioneers of Steam's Early Access program. That means that it joined as early as 2013. It didn't last too long compared to other games though and came out of beta phase two years later with good reception.
During this span of Early Access, Kerbal Space Program was able to sell millions of copies. In terms of gameplay, Kerbal Space Program is practically a NASA engineer simulator where players build spacecraft for an alien race called the Kerbals as they try to explore the deadly vacuum of space. Fans are excited for new explorations (and probably killing the Kerbals on purpose or by accident) in the long-awaited sequel.
5 Subnautica - 3 Years
Subnautica is also among one of the first few games to try out Steam's Early Access and it's now one of the biggest titles around. The unique take on survival games focuses on the often unexplored setting in media: the ocean depths. But players definitely got that from the obvious title not unlike a game in Early Access right now — Raft.
Subnautica spent a considerable amount of time in Early Access (around three years). Initially, the game had a polarizing start but managed to benefit well from the program. Through open communication with the players, the developers were able to transform the game into a top contender for survival titles today.
4 Fortnite - 3 Years
Fortnite is so incredibly well-known for its Battle Royale aspect that its main game mode has been almost completely overshadowed. It actually underwent a paid Early Access phase in 2017 and only came out of this development mode in 2020. That makes its Early Access duration around three years.
Of course, Fortnite being itself, the first few weeks of the Early Access phase back in 2017 was a resounding accomplishment where half-a-million players signed up for the paid Early Access program. This was simultaneous to its dizzying Battle Royale mode prominence. Unfortunately, support for the campaign mode has dwindled in lieu of supporting Battle Royale initiatives.
3 Rust - 4 Years
Rust is an endearing success story when it comes to the Steam Early Access program. That's because the game was also a pioneer back in 2013 — one of Steam's oldest games that began with Early Access. The developers recently launched a "Legacy" version, so it is safe to say that the incubation period paid off.
This hardcore and unapologetic survival game might feel rough around the edges but, through its four years of Early Access development, it grew into a competitive playground for anyone looking to grief and practice some digital mischief. It's currently one of the most stable and engaging survival games out there.
2 Besiege - 5 Years
Besiege's developers made a bold move to release an Early Access single-player game without any campaign or main mission back in 2015. Most players would have been turned off, but Besiege attracted a million players within the first year of its Early Access phase.
Despite not having a campaign, Besiege was — by far — the most polished game released in Early Access mode. The bugs were minimal and the graphics looked like they were ready for a full release. As such, many players felt that the game was already half-done even if the game actually took its sweet time. The developers had an official release for it last year.
1 DayZ - 5 Years
While on the topic of games that take their sweet time, DayZ is probably a title that would give many players some nostalgic flashbacks or a traumatic fit. Within a year of entering Early Access back in 2013, it already had a million buyers.
Little did those people know that it would take several more years of development before DayZ was ready for release. The game's development time became something of a joke in the player community But those who stuck around until the end did find the experience more or less rewarding. Players who pick the game up today will likely have the same experience.