What’s the problem with staying in early access? It’s not like the games are squatting on welfare. Do they get anything from Steam beyond a placard that says “my game ain’t finished”?

The only thing is people deflecting criticism because of the “early access” tag. But if you want to introduce arbitrary term limits so you can win internet arguments about video game developer malfeasance, then you’ve lost me.

I don’t understand why we let Civ get away with amputating gameplay from the end-of-lifecycle previous game to repackage as new DLC again? If they hit upon great ideas in an expansion, why is that not folded into the core product like most decent games do with sequels?

They started with a triangle for 6, slowly carved it down to a semi-smooth, functional circle, then turned around for 7 and said “how about a cube this time?” Stop reinventing the wheel and finish refining it.

Honestly, the development mirrors my playthroughs of 4Xs: start with something funky and a lil different, struggle to make it work, and then restart when I’m close to done.