First announced at E3 2015, the Xbox Game Preview program
allows gamers to buy and play games that are still in development. The first year of the program has been very
successful, but many people still have a lot of questions about it and how
everything works. We have everything
you need to know about the Xbox Game Preview program right here.
What Is Xbox Game Preview?
To start with, it needs to be made clear that the Xbox Game
Preview is a totally separate thing from the Xbox One dashboard preview
program. The dashboard preview lets
members beta test new Xbox One dashboard updates and new features for a few
weeks before that update goes out to everyone on Xbox Live. The dashboard preview program is limited
only to invited members.
The Xbox Game Preview program, on the other hand, is open to
anyone and lets you play games that are still in development weeks and months
before they’re really final and “done”.
This lets gamers play games super early, but also lets developers get
feedback from fans in order to make the game even better when it finally does
come out.
You do have to pay to play Game Preview titles, but you’re
essentially just buying the game early.
When the game goes gold and is officially released, you already own it
if you bought it when it was in preview.
Each preview game also has a 1-hour demo so you can see if it is worth
buying. These are games still in
development, of course, so they can be pretty rough at first. Part of the fun of buying a Game Preview title, for us at least,
is seeing how it improves over the course of development.
It should be noted that there is a slight risk that these
Game Preview titles might never actually come out, but unlike Steam’s Early
Access which is filled with games stuck in development limbo seemingly forever,
no games in the Xbox Game Preview have failed to see a final release yet. Even if a game never sees release, however,
you’ve already likely spent a fair bit of time with it and gotten your money’s
worth already, so I don’t see this as being that big of an issue.
Xbox Game Preview Pros and Cons
One word of warning about buying a Game Preview title is
that you will have to download a ton of updates for it. These games are still in development, so
they’re constantly getting updated with new features and patches and updates
that can eat up a lot of bandwidth.
The benefit of that, however, is that being able to watch a
game essentially be built right before your eyes is very, very cool. I’ve been playing ARK: Survival Evolved
almost since the first day it was available on Xbox One, and the game you can
play right now is wildly different from how it was in December 2015. There are multiple new species of animals
and dinosaurs, new items, improved graphics, new gameplay modes, and even a new
map to play on that have been added.
The game still has a few months in development, too, so it is only going
to get better.
Another pro of buying a game still in preview is that they cost a little less than the full MSRP when the final game ships, usually something like $5 less than the final MSRP, so you can save some money.
Another pro of buying a game still in preview is that they cost a little less than the full MSRP when the final game ships, usually something like $5 less than the final MSRP, so you can save some money.
The downside of playing Game Preview titles is that there’s
a high possibility that you’re going to be tired of playing them already by the
time the final version of the game actually comes out. On the plus side, the games don’t have any
achievements or gamerscore while they’re in Preview, so coming back to a game
once it is final to earn some tasty gamerscore is a good way to lure you back
in. At least for me it is.
What Titles Are Available in Xbox Game Preview?
Games that have already gone through the preview program and have been released as full titles include Elite Dangerous, Sheltered, Prison Architect, The Solus Project, and Layers of Fear.
Games currently in Game Preview, or are coming soon to the program, include ARK: Survival Evolved, The Long Dark, Subnautica, We Happy Few, Rivals of Aether, and Snooker Nation Championship. DayZ has been announced, but no word on when that will actually appear.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that the Xbox Game Preview program has
been pretty great so far. It lets
gamers actually participate in the development process by giving feedback to
developers, and seeing a game change and grow over time is really
fantastic. If you’re interested in an
upcoming game that is part of the Game Preview program, there’s no reason not
to jump in and check it out.
