Early Access as we understand it is still in its infancy, and developers are still experimenting with the format. Rarely a week goes by when the whole establishment isn't questioned to some degree, whether it's the amount we should be expected to pay for unfinished games, why the whole process is so darned confusing , or whether studios are obliged to complete their games at all . The latest controversy surrounds Kickstarter-funded RTS Planetary Annihilation, which has popped up at UK retail outlets in its Early Access state. The debate started on Reddit , which prompted Uber director Jon Mavor to comment on the move.
"At Uber we've been trying really hard to innovate on business models during the entire development of [Planetary Annihilation]." Mavor told Game Informer . "We had planned to do a retail release all along and the early access box came about as part of our experimental attitude. Since early access works so well, our partners at Nordic thought that it would be worth trying an early access retail edition and we agreed it was a cool idea."
When asked why the studio opted to release the Early Access edition at retail, Mavor was blunt: "The real question is, why not? After all, they are getting the same game, just earlier. It's a changing world and we hope to continue trying out new and innovative ways to make games."
So there you have it. Planetary Annihilation was originally scheduled for a December release , which was later delayed. The project has attracted nearly $3 million in Kickstarter funding.
Here's the Planetary Annihilation packshot:
