The 5 Stages Of Early Access Burnout

You bought in. You believed. The roadmap looked solid. The trailer had potential. And now?

You’re staring at the same three enemy types in an unfinished biome, wondering how this became your 37th Early Access disappointment. Welcome to the club. We meet weekly. Bring your unpatched trauma.

Here are the Five Stages of Early Access Burnout—because if we’re going to suffer, we might as well do it with emotional clarity.

Stage 1: Euphoria (a.k.a. “This Could Be the One”)

This is the honeymoon. The dopamine rush. The Steam impulse buy at 1am. You watched a trailer with sick vibes and whispered, “Don’t let me down.”

You load it up. The music slaps. The art style is gorgeous. You overlook the bugs because “it’s Early Access, obviously.” You tweet your first impressions. You believe.

“Honestly? For a pre-alpha tech demo, this is already GOTY.” — You, lying to yourself

Stage 2: Denial (a.k.a. “It’s Just Missing Polish”)

The cracks start to show. The UI breaks. The tutorial disappears. The controls feel like they were coded by an unpaid ghost. But you’re still defending it. You’ve invested too much hope.

You post bug reports. You check the forums. You say things like, “Once they optimize it, it’ll be incredible.” You still believe. Mostly.

Stage 3: Bargaining (a.k.a. “I’ll Just Wait for the Next Patch”)

You stop playing. You tell yourself it’s temporary. “I don’t want to burn out before the new zone drops.” You start checking the Discord instead of the game. You lurk the dev blog like it’s gospel.

Every roadmap update feels like a hostage note. “Q3 2025: Mounted Combat, Maybe.” You tell your friends, “It’s gonna be huge when it hits 1.0.” You haven’t logged in for weeks.

Stage 4: Depression (a.k.a. “It’s Never Coming Out, Is It?”)

The updates slow. The devs go quiet. “Life stuff came up,” says the community manager. The last patch broke more than it fixed. Your excitement calcifies into ambient resentment.

You move the game into a special folder on your desktop: “Games I Might Try Again If They Ever Finish.” Right next to *Scavengers*, *The Day Before*, and *That One Game With The Cool Grappling Hook.*

You start side-eyeing every new Early Access launch like it owes you money.

Stage 5: Acceptance (a.k.a. “I’m the Idiot”)

You finally say it out loud: “It’s never going to be finished.” And if it is, it won’t be what you imagined. The dream is dead, but at least you’re free. You uninstall. You reclaim your time. You learn nothing.

And then—one day—a new game drops. Procedural crafting. Community-driven roadmap. “Our vision is to create a living world.”

You click “Add to Wishlist.”

“Early Access isn’t a model. It’s a lifestyle. And we’re all addicted.” — FreeBird

How to Break the Cycle

• Never believe a roadmap. They are fiction with bullet points.
• Wait for 1.0 unless you enjoy debugging someone else’s homework.
• Follow devs, not trailers. Look at their history, not their Discord hype channel.
• Set boundaries. “I’ll check back in 6 months” is a real strategy.
• Forgive yourself. Everyone wants to believe. That’s why they call it hope-pium.

Early Access isn’t evil. Some of the best games ever made came from it. But it’s also a psychological trap disguised as a wishlist. Know what you’re getting into. And get out when the dream becomes labor.

You deserve finished games. You deserve respect. You deserve to uninstall.

AJ Hanson

AJ Hanson has been part of games media since 2011, writing, streaming, and ranting about the industry long before it was his job. He runs the Galaxy’s Edge Discord, the go-to community for fans of Disney’s Star Wars parks, and works as Marketing Director for the Virtual Cantina Network, helping produce shows, interviews, and fan events. A lifelong Star Wars fan and unapologetic nerd, AJ’s focus has always been on building spaces where people can connect, argue, and celebrate the things they love without all the corporate gloss.