Gamers are desperate to see more playable demos as buggy launches become more prevalent

It’s a Reddit post from some months ago, but the point still stands today, more so if anything. Gamers want more playable demos of upcoming games, particularly in the wake of many games arriving on launch day full of bugs or game-breaking glitches.

While we could point out many different games from the past year alone that have arrived with bugs that need squashing, it’s perhaps best to look at the industry as a whole. The original Reddit thread asked for studios to release “a playable demo with at least 30 minutes of gameplay to showcase the graphics, performance, and general mechanics if they're expecting pre-orders.”

If we're paying over £50 for a game, should we be entitled to a demo first?

This is a sentiment often echoed across social media and message boards. In an age where we’re regularly expected to spend upwards of £50 on new releases, many players would love to get hands-on with the game to gauge not only how well it has been made but also if they would enjoy it.

The post ended with “This was commonplace back in the 90s but kinda faded away over time.” It’s true, back in the days of early CD-based consoles, we would get demo discs filled with trials of games. Talk to anyone who owned a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 and they’ll have a fond memory of playing a demo to death while waiting for a game to release. With online storefronts, this should be easier than ever, but it seems only indie developers think of putting out a trial.

With so many games releasing with issues somewhere in their builds, it makes many think that these could be caught by putting out a demo. The only reply to the Reddit post is summed up as “It worked previously, it ought to work now” and they’re right. Perhaps one day this will come around again, but if we’re spending so much, is this too much to ask?