endless-open-beta
Latest
The Soapbox: Launch is optional, beta is forever
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. As the Massively staffer who puts together our Betawatch column every week, I can't tell you how many times I've heard some variation of "that game is not in open beta -- a working cash shop equals launch." While I can certainly see what these readers are saying, in the end it's up to the developer to dictate open beta vs. launch. On the other hand, I have to agree with our readers to a point -- particularly with games that have been in open beta for a year or more, have working item shops, and produce regular patches or expansions.
