Early Access for Finished Games

There seems to be a trend at the moment involving premium editions that provide early access to their titles, Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3 both come to mind.

Paying for an “Ultimate Edition” of a game will often net you a plethora of overvalued goodies but now we find that you can play a game up to a week early if you have the coin.

Take Battlefield 1 for example. The beta worked its magic and made it a day one purchase for me however I apparently had to make up my mind as to whether I wanted to play earlier by paying for the Early Enlister Deluxe Edition or the even more expensive Ultimate Edition or alternatively stick with the Standard Edition. On top of this, there was the additional option to play for 10 hours (without pre-order) via EA/Origin Access almost a week before release.

So let’s do the math assuming I want to play this game and I want to play it now…

First I need to sign up for Origin Access for $6.99 a month. Then I need to pay $109 AUD for the Early Enlister Deluxe Edition so I can play it 3 days early. We have $6.99 (I can cancel Origin Access straight after) + $109. I do get 10% off any Origin purchases too. So that brings the price down to around $105 plus I get to play it early and I get a taste for 10 hours.

I’m still on the fence as to whether or not it’s a good thing, perhaps it just all about perceived value. What do you think? Comment below and let us know!