early access
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All-time dumpster fire The Day Before shuts down 46 days after launch
The Day Before is no more. The spectacular trainwreck of a game, which saw developer Fntastic announcing its closure only four days after launch, closed its servers for good on Monday, reports IGN.
'Minecraft' is coming to Chromebooks
Microsoft has announced that Minecraft is coming to Chromebooks and is available to try right away via an early access version.
First 'Dune: Spice Wars' gameplay trailer shows real-time combat
We got our first look at Dune: Spice Wars at the 2021 Game Awards, and now developer Shiro Games is giving fans of Frank Herbert’s seminal novels a better look at the project.
'Valheim' surpasses 5.7 million copies sold in five weeks on Steam Early Access
Iron Gate co-founder Henrik Tornqvist says the studio is hiring more hands.
'Sons of the Forest' trailer teases a 2021 release date
It’s been almost exactly a year since we had seen new footage of Sons of the Forest.
Kickstarter cautionary tale 'Unsung Story' hits Steam early access tomorrow
One of the most infamous games in Kickstarter history has something approaching a release date
Steam Playtest makes it much easier to beta test PC games
Steam has served as a digital game store on PC for many years, but managing test groups, demos and reviews has generally relied on a system of demos and key distribution that leaves plenty of holes for scammers and other bad actors. Now Valve has launched Steam Playtest, so that developers can invite people and control access directly via the Steam store page for their game. Valve writes that this isn’t meant to replace Early Access beta testing, and can even be used alongside it, but unlike Early Access, this feature is free to use for developers and customers and doesn’t support sales.
Amazon's Luna game streaming platform is now in early access
A small number of players can try out the service starting today.
'Fortnite' finally sheds its Early Access label
Epic now considers 'Fortnite' an established game.
Facebook’s new tool lets gamers plan their own esports tournaments
Today, Facebook Gaming is launching Tournaments, a new feature that lets users create, join or follow virtual game tournaments. You can host single elimination, double elimination or round robin tournaments, and best of all, it’s open to anyone. Facebook says it’s meant to be a “one-stop shop for everything critically important for tournament organizers.”
'Baldur's Gate 3' comes to Steam in 2020 as an Early Access game
It took a while, but Larian Studios is narrowing down launch plans for Baldur's Gate 3. Hasbro (which controls Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast) has confirmed at the New York Toy Fair that the long-anticipated role-playing sequel will arrive on Steam sometime in 2020 as an Early Access title. You won't see BG3 gameplay until Larian's PAX East presentation on February 27th at 3:30PM Eastern, but it's already clear the studio doesn't intend to make players wait much longer past the two decades since Baldur's Gate 2.
'Hades' made me a believer in early access games
Hades is the game that finally got me to try an early-access release. I should explain: I generally feel you should buy a game only once it's been released and reviewed. In an era where physical stock is rarely a concern, pre-ordering games basically means you're giving publishers free money, but early access titles go a step further -- it's like paying to be a beta tester.
Co-operative horror shooter ‘GTFO’ hits Steam Early Access
After it was first announced three years ago, co-operative horror shooter GTFO is now available through Steam Early Access. If you haven't heard of this one before, it attempts to scratch the same itch as titles like Left 4 Dead, pitting you and three friends against hordes of monsters inside of an oppressive and dark underground facility. 10 Chambers Collective, a studio that includes several designers who worked on the Payday series, developed GTFO.
Lyft's new monthly subscription is cheaper, but doesn't cover ride costs
Last year, Lyft tried to get users to pay $299 per month for its All-Access Plan. That included 30 "free" monthly trips (as long as they were under $15), but people were, understandably, shocked by the price tag. Now, Lyft is trying a new approach. It's Lyft Pink membership offers a 15 percent discount on all car rides, and it's just $19.99 per month, less than 10 percent of the monthly All-Access fee.
After a year of Epic Games exclusivity, ‘Hades’ heads to Steam Early Access
Hades, the next game from Bastion and Pyre developer Supergiant Games, is coming to Steam Early Access on December 10. The game has been available in early access on the Epic Games Store since December of last year.
‘Dreams’ turns the PS4 into a charming game development kit
Dreams is finally here. The latest game by Media Molecule, the delightfully whimsical studio behind LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway, was first teased at the PlayStation 4 reveal event in February 2013. A Creator Early Access was released on Tuesday (April 16th), mere hours before Mark Cerny, a systems architect at Sony, revealed the first details about the PlayStation 5. Dreams, then, was dangerously close to missing an entire console generation.
'Dreams' early access begins April 16th on PS4
If you've been patiently waiting for Media Molecule's Dreams, you'll be happy to learn that early access begins April 16th. You'll be able to buy the PS4 crafting tool and LittleBigPlanet follow-up in the PlayStation Store for $30 in the US, and $40 in Canada. Dreams isn't fully built-out yet, but this rough release will let users test some of the core functions -- like designing games, creating music and sculpting characters.
Google's opening up its Early Access program to more devs
Google's opening up its Early Access program today by allowing any developer to apply to let users beta test their apps.
Rockets, flirting and bruised egos on Steam Early Access
Steam launched its Early Access program in 2013, allowing developers to publish and sell incomplete, in-progress builds of their games on the internet's largest digital distribution hub. And publish they did -- by May 2014, more games had launched on Steam that year than in all of 2013, partially thanks to Early Access. This contributed to the gaming industry's ongoing digital revolution, where publishers shifted away from shipping physical products, indies were on the rise and Kickstarter changed how everyday players interacted with game creators. The revolution continues to simmer today and developers, especially independent ones, are still figuring out what to do with all of these new tools -- including Early Access.
FACTIONS: Origins of Malu opening early access in 'a couple weeks'
After Origins of Malu got the green light on Steam, developers went to work getting the sci-fantasy sandbox ready to release to players on that platform. All that work is about to come to fruition: Producer Michael Dunham told Massively that the early access release for the game's PvP build is only a couple of weeks away. FACTIONS: Origins of Malu is launching an invite-only closed release to ensure the systems are in check as far as user capacity, client integration, and the like today, February 1st, 2015; the EA will follow shortly after. Dunham anticipates early access to open before the 15th. To learn more about FACTIONS and future plans, read our exclusive interview with Dunham, then check out MassivelyTV on Monday, February 2nd, at 9:00 p.m. EST for a special Stream Team sneak peek of the game with devs.
