Evolve developer Turtle Rock Studios considers Early Access for future projects

I'm old enough to remember a time when alpha and beta testing was something game makers did before they released their creations to the paying public, and so I find "Early Access" to be a particularly interesting phenomenon. It was initially promoted as a way for indie developers to maintain themselves through much-needed infusions of funds, but now the big boys are giving it a look and they seem to like what they see. DICE recently said that it's looking at Early Access for upcoming Battlefield games , and Evolve developer Turtle Rock Studios would like to do the same thing.

Robb said that the real attraction isn't the money, but the ability to interact with the community during the development process. He said Evolve has changed a lot over the years, and that Turtle Rock "lamented the fact that we couldn't take the community along on the ride."

Turtle Rock is independently owned, so its musings on Early Access are perhaps more palatable than those of DICE, whose ideas for Battlefield on Early Access attracted a not-entirely-positive response. But it's hardly a tiny indie operator: Turtle Rock's LinkedIn page describes it as having from 51-200 employees, and it is currently developing Evolve for the PC and next-gen consoles all on its own. I don't doubt that Robb's motives are pure but I do wonder if, indie or not, the studio will face any backlash for capitalizing on a system meant to aid small developers in financial straits – especially if Evolve is a big hit.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.