Amplitude on Early Access Evolution with Endless Legend 2

Amplitude Studios has launched Endless Legend 2 after a year in early access. The studio's co-founder reflects on how the model has changed since they were pioneers over a decade ago.

According to Romain de Waubert de Genlis, co-founder and CEO of Amplitude, the entire early access landscape has shifted. He told Rock Paper Shotgun that with their first title, Endless Space in 2012, they were among the first on Steam's early access program before it even had that name. Journalists were reluctant to cover unfinished games, and the relationship was largely private between the studio and dedicated players. The full launch would then trigger an "avalanche" of new players.

A Changed Landscape

Now, de Waubert de Genlis says, more players, journalists, and influencers engage during early access. This creates uncertainty about whether that initial interest translates to a second wave at the official 1.0 launch. To combat this, like other developers, Amplitude held back significant content for the launch day. For Endless Legend 2, this included three new factions, expanding the total from five to eight, alongside numerous other changes.

The most profound change, however, is in player expectations. "Going back to 10, 15 years ago, people understood very well it was an unfinished game," de Waubert de Genlis said. He noted that players once complained if a game was too polished in early access, feeling the studio should be building it collaboratively with them. That attitude has inverted. "Now if you come to early access with an unfinished game you'll get crushed," he stated. Players now expect a far more complete product for their money, which the CEO finds challenging for creative experimentation.

Development Under Scrutiny

De Waubert de Genlis explained that the original vision for early access allowed for trying ideas and learning from mistakes. The current climate, where players can be "unforgiving" of imperfect updates, makes that rocky creative path more difficult. During Endless Legend 2's early access, the team released around 60 patches and ten major updates, each under pressure to consistently improve.

Player feedback was key, even when blunt. The initial implementation of the game's core mechanic-receding waters revealing new land-was problematic. At first, when water was receding, we had way too much land, de Waubert de Genlis said. People could get lost and bored. The team redesigned the land generation based on this feedback, creating more chokepoints to build conflict over the newly revealed territory.

The Future Model

Despite these shifts, Amplitude is sticking with its model for the next project, Humankind 2. A small group of players is already providing feedback on a private alpha. Benoit Humbert, Humankind 2's game director, said the team now better understands that players expect an early access title to seem finished and works well. What they release will be a kind of finished game, with changes still made based on player input.

For de Waubert de Genlis, the modern early access process remains superior to the old way of developing in silence before a physical disc shipped. That final month was a stressful wait with no feedback from press or players. Now, the game is being played, feedback is constant, and developers work until the last minute before launch. There is no more wasted time.