Halo: Campaign Evolved launched earlier today, but only if you’ve purchased the $70 Premium Edition. This is the version of the new remake that includes five days of “early access” to the game ahead of its “real” launch on July 28. However, as I write this now, five hours after the game launched in early access, many players are still unable to play Halo. That’s shitty, and if companies are going to keep charging people ransom fees to play games “early,” then these same companies need to be prepared to start offering refunds when people don’t get the access they paid for.
Paying extra to play a game early has become normalized over the last few years. Practically every big game now features some special edition that costs more but promises to let people play a few days early. Though, as I’ve said a few times now on this very website, none of these games are actually offering you early access. To release a game like Halo on Xbox and PlayStation, publishers and devs have to pass certain tests and get certification. Plus, final builds have to be uploaded, back ends prepped, and so forth. All of that work is done when these so-called “early access” periods roll around. It’s more accurate to say that Xbox and other publishers are delaying your access to the game for a few days unless you pay an extra fee. It sucks, and I’m so frustrated that it’s caught on with people.
All of that said, if publishers want to charge extra to play early, then they need to be held accountable when it doesn’t work. Which has happened before and is currently (as of 4 p.m. EST on July 23) happening now with Halo: Campaign Evolved. If your game isn’t playable early as advertised, then you should have to refund some or all of the extra cash players paid to get access as soon as possible.
Normally, I have sympathy for companies encountering challenges as they launch their games, especially online titles. Video games are hard. Games that connect to the web are even harder. Lots of shit can go wrong. I get it.
But my sympathy evaporates when you charge people $20 or more for early access. At that point, publishers have made a silly promise built on greed, and if they can’t keep that promise, the publisher should face some kind of punishment. In actuality, they should all face a lot more scrutiny and punishment in general for the state of the industry, but let’s stay focused.
If you promise people the chance to play “early” and then, for half a day or more, people who paid extra can’t actually play the game despite paying your shitty ransom fee, then you need to refund that fee. And if that sounds harsh, well, I have a great solution: Don’t lock early access behind artificial paywalls and bullshit charges in the first place. It’s really that simple. And if you fuck this all up and gamers start yelling at you online, you (the publisher) only have one place to put the blame, and it ain’t with the people who paid extra and didn’t get what was advertised. It’s with you and your greedy practices.
But also, people, please stop paying more to play “early.” Wait a few days. Chill. Save some money. Read reviews. And don’t let publishers screw you over like this, especially because, knowing how these things usually work, my refund policy won’t ever be instituted. Don’t give them money for nothing. Buy a soda or something instead.