As seen in the examples Wild West Online, Shroud of the Avatar or The Culling, it seems to be becoming increasingly common to release games intentionally unfinished – and fans even throw jubilant money into the developers’ mouths for it. Even Sea of Thieves fits this pattern. Author Andreas Bertits has his own opinion on this.
Unfinished but “released”: Wild West Online
How unfinished was Wild West Online released? Wild West Online could be considered the prime example of unfinished released games. Even during the Alpha, the MMO gave the impression that half was missing, including textures on objects. A multitude of bugs ruined the fun. Promised features like bounty hunts weren’t even integrated. Well, it was still Alpha, one might think. But now, after the official release on May 10, the online game is still in the same state.
Shroud of the Avatar
What is happening with Shroud of the Avatar? Placeholder dialogues in NPCs, an unrefined balancing, an offline mode where the game becomes nearly impossible to master in later passages because NPC companions are useless. Along with cloned game areas and bugs where you have to expect that every quest may not be finishable, these are among the things that show: SotA was simply not finished at launch on March 27.
The developers even admit this and will be releasing updates in the coming months – not to add more features, but to finish the game – after release!
The Culling 2
The Culling – Canceled, restarted, canceled, and another restart planned. The Culling never knew what kind of game it wanted to be. Perhaps influenced by the success of battle royale shooters like Fortnite, the game mechanics were constantly changed until the original had to be canceled due to criticism of its unfinished and “bad” state. Player numbers were also in the cellar. The Culling 2 was released and met the same fate. Now the team plans to return to square one… Sounds like not a particularly well-thought-out concept. Maybe it would have been better to establish a clear concept from the beginning and stick to it.
Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves – It should evolve. When Sea of Thieves was released on March 20, it was already clear from the beta that it would be in an unfinished state. And the developers explained that they wanted to bring a game to market that evolves. Nevertheless, at release, the online game simply had far too little content. Yes, content is being added and slowly the title is making progress. But the bitter aftertaste of having intentionally released an unfinished game continues to linger.
Unfinished but Full Price
Unfinished games cost as much as finished ones. So, games are released that are not finished or that at least do not start in a state that could be considered completed or mature. And yet, they cost just as much money as a completed product. Paradoxical, but that’s how it is.
Isn’t it normal for MMOs to be “unfinished”? It depends on what you mean by “finished”. A game that has the status of “released” should be able to stand alone as a refined product, play well, and be enjoyable. It’s okay for updates to be used to add new content or fix the remaining bugs. However, at release, a game should have a good status that can be described as “finished” or “refined”. After all, developers charge the full price for their product.
Where lies the problem? The problem lies in the fact that this behavior is becoming the norm and is being supported by paying customers. Whoever pays the full price for an obviously unfinished product ensures that more developers jump on this bandwagon. Thus, we will increasingly see games that are obviously unfinished and perhaps even in a dire state being released, yet still cost the full price. Here, the question arises whether players want to pay just to act as testers or whether it might be time to show developers that only mature products should be supported.
Exception Early Access?
What about Early Access? Early Access is a double-edged sword. The intention behind it is quite fine and legitimate. Releasing a game in an early state to involve players in the development through feedback and to see what works well and what does not. After all, Early Access titles are also marked as “unfinished”. However, more and more developers are simply using Early Access to release unfinished games to make quick money. As customers, one should always be careful about which titles to support.
Isn’t this kind of thing going to backfire? Players have the power to dictate how they deal with this situation. If such unfinished full-price games are heavily criticized, rated poorly, and not purchased anymore, it should be a lesson for the development studios, and maybe they will pay more attention to delivering quality in the future. As long as such products are being purchased, however, there will probably be no learning effect.
What do we recommend? Look at what you are spending your money on. If you are uncertain about a new game, it’s better to wait a bit before buying and read reviews and comments from players who have already bought the title. Or use the refund option on Steam to return a game that does not meet your standards of a quality product within two hours. Such returns often hit developers where it hurts.
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