OVERWATCH BETA BAD FOR SALES? - Daily Arcade 005

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In early May, gamers across the world will get the opportunity to dig into Overwatch a few weeks ahead of its official release.

The multiplayer’s open beta will ostensibly be for the purpose of stress-testing the game’s online systems, but considering how close the release date for the full game, there isn’t much time after the beta for Blizzard to implement any changes before the game goes public. Plenty of beta tests have been performed throughout theOverwatch’s development in order to ensure that things run smoothly for the game’s full release.

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Instead, Overwatch’s open beta serves primarily as a marketing opportunity: a small piece of free content to hook players into the game, drum up discussion in online communities, and cement a fanbase for the product in anticipation of later sales. This tactic is being used increasingly often by developers looking to build up interest around their projects and is commonly accepted as fairly standard practice for modern development of AAA games. Earlier this year a record 6.4 million people took place in an open beta for The Division, many of whom went on to purchase the full game upon its release.

The practice of throwing open the doors to allow widespread access to an unreleased game isn’t always well received, though – the recent beta for the upcoming Doom reboot left a bad taste in many players’ mouths, many of whom took to the internet to voice their displeasure at the direction the game is taking.

Similarly, while The Division has certainly proved a popular title, a small but vocal minority of gamers who took part in the game’s beta were less than complimentaryof the experience afterwards. While it’s difficult to tell whether these dissenters have had even a small impact on the sales of the game, it’s important to note that an open beta immediately preceding a game’s launch doesn’t always lead to a positive public reception.

Part of this is to do with the perceived value of the games that players are getting their hands on. Modern cynicism means that people will always be wary of a freebie, and it’s difficult to take a free trial for a game as seriously as one might take the full release. Players who make the conscious financial decision to purchase a game are more likely to be invested in the title, to give it the time it needs to shine and to learn ways around its flaws rather than throwing their hands up at the first sign of imperfection.

On the other hand, by presenting game content for free, developers are to a certain extent undervaluing their creations. When it’s easier for a player to gain access to a game, it’s also easier to nit-pick or find fault, as players feel more entitled to the content they’re being provided with and are more likely to reject it if it doesn’t instantly live up to their initial expectations. Any game that requires an investment of time and patience to learn playstyles will be instantly dismissed by gamers who expect betas to provide instant gratification.

Many gamers found this to be the case when playing the open beta for Star Wars Battlefront – the game’s progression system meant that many players were throwing themselves into firefights without pausing to learn the ropes and unlock equipment, and were duly punished for treating the beta as a throwaway experience rather than a game with rules that need to be learned.

Of course, the Battlefronts beta also had other issues – the beta gameplay was if anything a little too indicative of the full experience, and many players, having played the game for a couple of days, felt that there wasn’t enough content to keep them hooked for any longer than the duration of the initial beta.

The problem that many betas face is in the execution: as an extension of a video game demo, betas should be deliberately designed to draw in the player’s interest, quickly teach them the mechanics of the game, and tease them with just enough content to leave them wanting more without making them feel like they’re already seen the majority of what the game has to offer.

When developers simply carve off a few multiplayer levels from their game to allow players to run amok in, they’re not always delivering the kind of experience that works to increase players’ anticipation. A poorly arranged beta can fail to grab the player’s attention and empty out any of the excitement that they might have had for the game. This failing will undoubtedly lead to more lost sales than it will to an increase in users who get hooked on their initial taste.

As the open beta for Overwatch draws near, it’ll be interesting to see whether Blizzard works to create a unique, tailored beta experience that functions like a playable trailer for the game, or whether the studio will simply release a rough chunk of the game and let players provide their own interpretation.

The game is likely to be an enormous hit either way, but a strong beta offering could significantly increase the popularity of Blizzard’s latest masterpiece while an uneven experience might potentially influence some players’ decision to pick up the game immediately at launch.