Does paying for Early Access count as Pre-Ordering the Retail Game? 

This is the first game I'm probably going to pay EA access for, and so I really don't know how these things work. :(

Clarifications would be awesome. I really wanna buy the EA, but it would be nice to know I'm not paying double. XD

Yes. If you buy the Early Access version - you buy the game. You will still have it even when the game is fully release.

To clarify-clarify: Early Access and Pre-Order are NOT the same thing. When you pre-order, you pre-order a copy of the release version of the game that is due to come out at a very specific date, and you secure your copy in advance for whatever reasons ( They promised you something those publishers, didn´t they? :-) )

The Early Access version is by no means a finished product and has no set release date tagged to it. Now that being said - Amplitude is one of the few game developers that release Early Access games at a quality that is superior to the fully released version of many titles. Another studio in this space would be Mohawk with their Offworld Trading Company, and that would be about it from the top of my head. Most Early Access titles on Steam are not so polished and many indie Early Access titles never make it through. So unless the company has a good reputation or the game looks really polished at Early Access - if you want to have a good time you should probably hold off on it. For Endless Space 2 you should by ALL means go for it though - even if that means borrowing money from your friends if you have to.

Just kidding! Don´t do that .... or ... maybe do ... :-)

It's also been clarified that the EA price will be lower than the full release price.

Thanks so much guys!

I was actually sort of scared to go EA for fear of having to buy it again, but YAY!

See you all on October 6!

Sir-Rogers wrote:

Yes. If you buy the Early Access version - you buy the game. You will still have it even when the game is fully release.

To clarify-clarify: Early Access and Pre-Order are NOT the same thing. When you pre-order, you pre-order a copy of the release version of the game that is due to come out at a very specific date, and you secure your copy in advance for whatever reasons ( They promised you something those publishers, didn´t they? :-) )

The Early Access version is by no means a finished product and has no set release date tagged to it. Now that being said - Amplitude is one of the few game developers that release Early Access games at a quality that is superior to the fully released version of many titles. Another studio in this space would be Mohawk with their Offworld Trading Company, and that would be about it from the top of my head. Most Early Access titles on Steam are not so polished and many indie Early Access titles never make it through. So unless the company has a good reputation or the game looks really polished at Early Access - if you want to have a good time you should probably hold off on it. For Endless Space 2 you should by ALL means go for it though - even if that means borrowing money from your friends if you have to.

Just kidding! Don´t do that .... or ... maybe do ... :-)

Klei, is another publisher with an impecable Early Access record. I don't have much time to play, so I seldom buy anything when it's first released (usually wait a year until it's on sale). Klei and Amplitude are my two exceptions. If I'm even remotely interested it's on the must buy list.