I’ve spent quite a few years as a games guide writer, and during that time I’ve picked up a few tricks for sniffing out early access titles and demos. Like test-driving a car, I like knowing what I’m getting ahead of time. Here’s a look at how I get early access to games—and how you can too.
1 Subscribing to Newsletters
I’m the last person who wants annoying spam mail clogging up my email, but subscribing to newsletters has netted me a couple of early access games in the past. That’s how I got into Spellbreak’s closed beta way back in 2019. The same can work for you, but it’s best to approach it with organization in mind.
To keep everything nice and organized, I used Gmail to create labels, where every newsletter subscription sends their junk to. Sometimes it’ll be an advertisement, sometimes it’ll be something worth checking out. If you want, you can unsubscribe from a newsletter if you aren’t catching anything good. I recommend going a step further with a throwaway email.
2 Backing Crowdfunding Projects
Crowdfunding projects are another great way to gain early access and demos to games. Now, it’s worth noting that, unlike Steam, you have to stretch your trust a little bit with crowdfunding projects. Off the top of my head, Pillars of Eternity is the perfect example of this cool phenomenon—you gained early access to the beta if you donated enough (and it was at a pretty cheap price, in my opinion).
It’s a good way to get onto the ground floor of a game in development. In fact, your participation could have an influence on the game. Sometimes your input could lead to an entirely new feature!
Before all that, though, spotting scams on GoFundMe should be your first step, which you can equally apply to any crowdfunding sites in general. It’s also worth mentioning that donating doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get early access. Always read the fine print!
3 Pre-Ordering Games
Although I’m a hypocrite for doing it myself, on the few occasions I’ve pre-ordered a game, early access was usually a given. Starfield and Diablo 4 were two games that I pre-ordered, and I do recall spending a couple of days before everyone else. Putting aside the dirty tactics used to get you to pre-order games in the first place, it’s still a viable option for getting early access.
If that sways your opinion, there are a few things to keep in mind. For starters, make sure you’re pre-ordering in advance, before the start date of early access. Lastly, you may experience server issues and bugs, assuming you don’t benefit from a day one patch.
4 Checking Out Online Storefronts
Rather than let early access games and demos come to you, why don’t you go to them? Online storefronts, from Android to PC, have varying degrees of options for those kinds of experiences, including alphas and betas to sign up for.
Steam and GOG are both perfect for a work in progress, especially the former. Steam has demos and early access titles as tags under the Categories drop-menu. GOG has an early access tag too, but you’ll have to use the search function for demos.
On consoles, the pickings are a little slimmer. At least in my experience, it’s so much easier to find demos and early access games on PC. The same goes with games on Google Play or the App Store. However, mobile games tend to be free-to-play anyway, so they’ll always feel like they’re being developed over time.
Before you enroll in an Early Access program however, make sure you’re aware of the pros and cons of Early Access games.
Whether you’re impatient or just want to experience a game developing over time, early access titles and demos aren’t tough to find. Personally, I usually use online storefronts, but I’ve used every one of these methods at one point or another.
