Too Long in Early Access Hurts Game Sales After Release, Research Shows
We’ve all seen games launch into early access, hoping to get a jumpstart on sales and gather player feedback, but a recent study from 2021-2024 has shown a sweet spot: around six months.
It turns out, staying in early access for too long can actually hurt your full release, as the data indicates a significant drop in post-launch sales after that six-month mark.
Study Finds Six Months Is the Ideal Length for Early Access Games
Newzoo published (via Automaton) free version of the Global Games Market Report 2025, where it analyzed the effect of early access on the growth of new players after official release. The research included games released in early access between January 2021 and December 2024, and later fully launched, across data from 37 countries (excluding China and India).
When comparing the first three months of early access with the first three months after release, most games did not grow beyond their early success. Games that stayed in early access for four to nine months showed the best increase in new players. From this, Newzoo says that about six months is the best length if the goal is to bring in new players at launch. These are usually games that start strong in early access and make good use of player feedback.
A study by GameDiscoverCo from 2015 to 2023 also showed that longer early access often leads to weaker sales after release but can help turn wishlists into real purchases. Things like how often updates come out, when the game is released, and how it is marketed also matter. Still, six months comes out as the best overall time.
In other news, GOG warns that Steam’s payment-driven bans threaten game preservation, removing titles under processor pressure and risking them forever.
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