Pay for beta software with Steam’s “Early Access”

Tired of waiting for games to be fully complete and released before you can buy them? Wish you could play a game while it’s still a bug-riddled, in-development mess? Well, Valve has got you covered with its new “Early Access” sales program.

The program lets players buy games that haven’t finished development yet; it lets developers charge you for the privilege of putting their unfinished game through its paces, warts and all.

Back in MY day, beta testers didn’t have to pay for the games they tested, and they’d usually get a free copy out of the deal too. My, how times have changed. And not for the better.