Talking Point: Do Early Access Editions Go Too Far for Story Games Like Death Stranding 2?

Warning: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach footage is now floating around online, just ahead of the game’s official launch.

Obviously, if you’re planning on playing Kojima Productions’ imminent sequel, you may want to be careful while browsing social media and streaming platforms.

Some who have received the game early have uploaded gameplay footage, or are simply streaming the game live on Twitch, meaning spoilers for the title’s opening hours are now out there.

While these leaks will soon be moot due to the game’s public launch this week, it does highlight a problem adjacent to this; the matter of early access pre-order incentives.

As with many notable releases of the last few years, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has two launch dates, depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

For the majority, the sci-fi action adventure sequel releases at the end of this week, on 26th June. However, those prepared to stump up the extra dosh for the Digital Deluxe edition gain access to the game a full two days early.

This trend is fairly common among high profile games, and it’s clearly a very enticing way to gain pre-orders on more expensive versions.

Unfortunately, in the case of narrative-driven titles, such as Death Stranding 2, it causes a real headache for those not in the early access club.

Even if the aforementioned leaks hadn’t happened, you’re certain to start seeing hours and hours of raw gameplay on YouTube, as well as countless clips on social media, long before the game’s “proper” release date.

The people who upload these videos will be perfectly within their right to do so, as they’ve paid for the privilege.

But it means that everyone else yet to join the party will have to navigate two days jam-packed with spoiler-filled content wherever they turn.

Now, we realise there’s some potential hypocrisy here; we’ve recently started posting videos of Death Stranding 2 on our own YouTube channel, such as the video version of our review. However, we’re doing so under agreed-upon restrictions with the publisher that prevent the media from sharing specific moments and details, thus not spoiling the whole experience for prospective players.

What we’re talking about is the inevitable flood of gameplay coming from people not operating under those conditions, likely posting footage far past whatever the media is allowed to share, all within the early access period.

Again, the people doing so aren’t really at any fault, but it does raise the question of whether giving some players early access is really fair on those that can’t or don’t want to pay the extra.

If we look at the PS Store’s best-selling pre-orders, among the games that have a special edition, those are almost uniformly selling better than the standard versions.

Several of those special editions offer a period of early access; as well as Death Stranding 2, there’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to name a few.

None of those examples are particularly egregious from a spoilers perspective, but the point is that it’s a popular trend and it’s spreading to more story-focused titles. Silent Hill F, The Outer Worlds 2, Hell Is Us, and more single-player experiences have early unlocks in their special editions.

Games like these are likely to be shared online, probably in their entirety, before their cheaper standard editions become available, meaning a two- or three-day spree of spoilers for many.

One could argue that, if more people are buying the special editions than the regular game, that suggests the majority are enjoying the early access period, and so this isn’t really a problem.

But we can’t know exactly how much more popular they are; they may be selling better, but there will still be a significant chunk of the audience opting for the standard edition.

Anyway, we’d love to know what you think about this. Are these paid-for early access periods causing headaches for those that can’t or won’t pay the extra? Should story-heavy games like Death Stranding 2 really be offering this incentive at all, given the heightened potential for spoilers? Let us know in the comments section below.