Microsoft will have Strict Quality Control for Xbox Early Access, and Use it Themselves

At this year’s E3, Microsoft cleaned house: the new controller looked awesome, their games looked awesome, and they unveiled both backwards compatibility and what they called “Xbox Game Preview”—which is exactly what Steam does with two major differences: it’s on the Xbox, and more importantly, there’s some actual quality control. How much quality control? I’m glad you asked!

Microsoft’s Head of Publishing Shannon Loftis had this to say at this year’s Gamescom, during an interview with Kotaku, when asked about their Early Access program:
 

“The games that are offered through Preview are just as high quality as will eventually ship on the platform. We have a set of certifications for Game Preview, but because of the early state of the games we try to set the expectation with the consumer that they might run into unfinished gameplay. The things we try to avoid are crashes and unfinished code. We want to make sure that the gamer can complete the experience but know that some things will be unfinished.”

It’s not enough to just guarantee the games will be of high quality: people need to be aware this isn’t just another form of Kickstarter. She continued:
 

“We’re screening the developers as well as the games themselves. We’ve been very clear with developers and gamers both that this isn’t a viable means of funding development. You have to be able to actually finish the game in order to get into the program.”

She even went so far as to say that if—for whatever reason—an indie developer just couldn’t finish a game available on Xbox Game Preview, Microsoft would step in themselves and ensure the game was finished in a satisfactory way. Of course, Microsoft has its mitts in this early access pie beyond screening, helping developers, and having their name on the front—apparently they plan to use it themselves.
 

“I can’t make any announcements about first-party games we’re going to put in Preview but typically at this point, given the way games development’s going, and the complexity of the systems, it is very important to us the consumer goes along with us the whole way.”

So, all together, it looks like a pretty damn promising system, assuming she’s being true to her word. Indeed, one of the big problems with Steam Greenlight and Early Access is that it’s so clustered with badly designed games, or the kind of fare you’d see a game student at IT Tech pump out for a final project, that trying to support the good games that rely on the system can be a dangerous gamble. Having some bar of quality—and constant checks—might interfere with the developers free spirit… but if it means no more games like Airline Simulator, I’ll take that hit.