Running open betas has traditionally been something of an oddity in the past, yet in the present it has become de rigeur among developers. Though previously consumers expected perfectly polished products, with only the occasional patch for stability or expansion for content, now they too have become part of this trend. With services such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo allowing developers to raise money from different channels, the nature of development is becoming different, and rather a lot less opaque.
The big studios are adopting this trend at an increasing pace, not only to allow for playability enhancements, but as a powerful marketing tool. As seen with the recent Halo 5: Guardians beta announcement trailer, and the clamor surrounding it, there is a clear appetite for this kind of thing. Moreover, the ability to not just play, but also to watch is a small slice of genius on the part of the developers, playing into the current trend which favors Twitch.
As such, the announcement by Phil Spencer on Twitter that there will be more such events is hardly a surprise, they’d be fools not to.
@TheRazorRex @PNF4LYFE @aarongreenberg Having Preview members help us test launches will be more common, good learning for us.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 19, 2014
Will you be taking part in the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta? Let us know in the comments below.
