Xbox One Gets an Early Access Program of its Own

Hoo boy, this is a big one.

So, as you know, Steam (and Valve, by extension) was the first to think of the idea of Early Access: a sort of practical pre-order where developers could post their unfinished games and earn some money selling the prototype while they continued to work on the final product. That was two years ago, and since then, the generally optimistic idea of Early Access has, unfortunately, been soured by the sad reality that it became a quick-and-easy tool for developers to basically con gamers for a quick buck by posting what amounts to a copy-pasted Unity engine mashup and charging twenty bucks for the privilege of trying it.

Microsoft, it seemed, took a look at that and thought “Yeah, we want in on that”—because now Microsoft Early Access is a thing.

Officially called Xbox Game Preview, it’s functionally similar to the Early Access program Steam uses: you buy a game while it’s being developed and get free updates as the game continues to get worked on. The key difference, however, is that at this early stage it appears as if Microsoft will at least be doing some quality checks before they publish anything.

Set to launch today, the Xbox Game Preview will have four games ready for you to try, with more on the way. These games are Sheltered, Day Z, The Long Dark, and Elite: Dangerous—all early access titles with prestige and quality attached to their names. Here’s hoping that list remains so exclusive.

Sony and Microsoft have both talked about doing an early access program in the past, but this is the first time we’ve seen it in action. If Sony plans on following suit, or if it’s even a good idea to begin with, has yet to be seen, but… as long as Microsoft keeps a tight lid on things, I don’t see why I should be pessimistic….