7 Days to Die’s Spin-Off Can’t Repeat Early Access Sins of the Past

Zombie survival-crafting game 7 Days to Die has finally left its long early access period, arriving on both consoles and PC on July 25, 2024. In the months leading up to 7 Days to Die’s full release, the studio behind the game, The Fun Pimps, has already announced the studio’s next game, a 4v1 PvP spin-off, 7 Days Blood Moon.

With the full release of 7 Days to Die finally out, the game was officially in early access for over a decade. Not only is this an alarming time frame for a game to be in early access, but it doesn’t tell the full story of 7 Days to Die’s early access sins. So, with the newly announced spin-off coming to early access soon, the studio would be wise to avoid repeating the same mistakes that the original game faced.

7 Days Blood Moon Should Learn From 7 Days to Die’s Mistakes

7 Days to Die Was in Early Access for Almost 12 Years

7 Days to Die first entered early access in December 2013, so the game’s full release in July 2024 marks almost twelve years of the game being in early access. Over time, the term early access has grown to be associated with negative connotations for many gamers, so an early access period of over ten years immediately raises some red flags, and rightfully so. At this point, 7 Days to Die has had one of the longest early access periods of any game, right behind Project Zomboid, which is currently still in early access and has been since November 2013.

7 Days to Die Faced Many Delays and Broken Promises Throughout its Early Access

Not only is the initial length of 7 Days to Die’s early access period a cause for concern, but this early access period also faced several delays, as well as unfulfilled promises of new content updates. Some of this missing content has since been revived as part of 7 Days to Die’s post-launch roadmap though, such as a story mode and new enemy types.

7 Days to Die’s Original Console Launch Was a Disaster

On top of all of this, 7 Days to Die once had a disastrous launch on consoles back in 2016. Allegedly due to issues with the console version’s publishing rights, the development of this version of the game was ultimately discontinued before the game ever got to reach its full potential, and this legacy version on consoles has since been delisted from digital stores. As of the full release of 7 Days to Die, console players can now enjoy the same version of the game as PC players, with cross-platform and mod support for 7 Days to Die potentially coming to consoles as well.

With all of this considered, The Fun Pimps announcing their next early access game before 7 Days to Die officially ended its own decade-long, troubled early access period already seems like a controversy waiting to happen. However, 7 Days to Die has admittedly undergone significant changes over the years on all platforms that have seemingly redeemed the game, which new or returning players should consider checking out, especially fans of multiplayer survival-crafting games.

7 Days to Die eventually overcoming its early access obstacles may not entirely excuse the game’s troublesome development, but at least these mistakes are in the past, so the studio can learn to avoid them for 7 Days Blood Moon. Otherwise, having another troubling early access launch could give the studio a harmful reputation.

7 Days to Die

Released

November 22, 2014

Developer(s)

The Fun Pimps

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer , Local Multiplayer , Online Co-Op , Local Co-Op

Engine

Unity

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence

How Long To Beat

N/A

X|S Enhanced

No

File Size Xbox Series

3 GB (November 2023)

Metascore

45

Number of Players

8 (PC), 4 (XBO & PS4)

Steam User Rating

88% (October 25, 2023)

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