I never subscribed to the idea of early access. I have enough finished (or “finished”) games to play to be getting and playing unfinished ones that will get huge overhauls down the line so I’ll need to start from the beginning.

[Old Man Mode Engaged]
Yes..... Although I have never liked Early Access.......

I have no idea how to do it or how to police it but a game cant be in Early Access for years...... Its getting beyond a joke how long these games stay in Early Access for......

Another is "My Summer Car"...... That has been in Early Access since 2016....... This simply should not be allowed to happen......

While I have a few Early Access games...... Some have been "Fully released" but others are still in limbo........ I just flat out wont by any Early Access games any more.......

No fatigue here. But to be fair, the number of early access games that I have played is fairly limited. And most of them were either practically finished (like Zachtronics games) or far enough along that it wasn't an issue. The biggest offender is 7 Days To Die. But with almost 800 hours in the game, I can't say I'm really complaining. Sure, they seem to have issues deciding what they want, but it's also given me an opportunity to play several different versions of a game that is meant to be replayed. Don't really regret it. Another lengthy EA is for Satisfactory, but that was kind of expected. Also no complaints about the quality of their updates.

Sooner or later it becomes a matter of semantics, as some things never leave "beta" or "early access" or whatever. Just like some software projects never leave "v0.4.1" version schemes lol

The significance is that it implies less responsibility. That's why they do it.

Personally, I just never buy games in Early Access. If I bought it but didn't play it in the Early Access period then there's no point in buying it early, and if I bought it and did play it in Early Access then I'm not going to play it again when it's actually released (and ostensibly better) because I've already played it. A game that's in perpetual Early Access is just perpetually not getting my money.

I generally avoid early access games unless it's fully playable and just needs some polishing to finish.

Early Access = "would I continue to play this game if development ceased today?"

Quoting: saellavenEarly Access = "would I continue to play this game if development ceased today?"

Yes, that's how I am about it too. I don't want garbage for $19.99, and I don't want garbage for free. I extract a heavy toll when people waste my time. (In the case of games, nothing will get me to write a bad review, and vocalize bad opinions, more than a poor effort that wastes my time)

However, the other side of your statement has often been, for me, "I want my early access game back, I don't like what they did with the release, and subsequent updates" :-)

I did one Early Access game and it was Jupiter Hell. Great game but I've had my fill of paid early access right there and then.

don't forget the EA games that go on sale (what??) and then announce DLC's!!!

In principal... Ridiculous
In practice EA = Released (so why not??)

I don't particularly mind, I think those games are upfront about what you are getting and I can just wait until they are finished, or at least "finished enough" for me. Very different from rushed buggy "releases".

I generally wait until it goes out of EA completely, but with some games like Factorio, Satisfactory or Northgard I jumped in late but still during early access. Those games are replayable enough that I don't feel bad for playing the not-final iteration if it is already good. And if I'm waiting for it to be completed it doesn't really matter if it is in early access or not (and yes indie dev takes a long time and lots of things can go wrong and delay it more, I don't hold it against them).

For FOSS games and a few other cases (like crowdfunded games), I think it is inevitable to follow this model (releasing partial builds for people to play instead of waiting for the complete, perfect game). Development is happening in the open, you aren't trying to do a big reveal or build hype, and you can actually benefit from player feedback, bug reports, even contributions. So you show your progress, and let people choose if they want to play it or wait.