The terribly named multiplayer phenomenon PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was announced for the PlayStation 4 this week, but the reveal was met with real scepticism. Sony’s policy on Early Access is a bit confused: in 2014 it said it was looking into ways of supporting it, but only Ark: Survival Evolved has released thus far. Even more baffling is the fact that the likes of DayZ and H1Z1 were announced for Sony’s system eons ago, but still haven’t arrived.

It would appear, then, that unlike its competitor, it’s generally decided against Early Access releases – but should it change its stance? The question comes at an interesting time, as PlayStation Store curation is a hot topic following the release of Life of Black Tiger among others. Some people think that the Japanese giant should be blocking the release of these finished but heavily, heavily flawed games; we disagree.

But if we’re against curation in general, then surely that means we should be in favour of Early Access? Well, yes and no. The problem with the business model is that it can be easily exploited: games are sold on the premise that they’ll be updated over time, but there are no shortage of projects on Steam that have been dropped before they’ve had the chance to be polished off. It’s a discussion with lots of nuance as a result.

And that’s why we’ve come to you. What do you think about Early Access? Do you reckon it’s something that Sony should enable on its system, or do you think it’s right to put its foot down? Would you pay money for Early Access software, knowing it may never be finished – or are you fed up of games launching unfinished as it is? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, and remember to vote in our poll while you’re at it.

Should Sony allow Early Access games on PS4? (161 votes)

  1. Yes, options are always appreciated22%
  2. I'm really not sure17%
  3. No, only finished games should be allowed61%

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[source bit.ly]