Endless Legend 2: Amplitude on changed Early Access expectations
In brief
- Amplitude Studios says Early Access expectations have changed a lot over 10 to 15 years as Endless Legend 2 heads toward Steam Early Access.
The available information also says Endless Legend 2 is expected to leave Steam Early Access after about a year. No exact 1.0 release date has been announced.
What happened
Amplitude Studios, the French developer behind the Endless series, is at the center of a piece about Endless Legend 2 and how Early Access has shifted over the years. Romain de Waubert de Genlis, CEO and co-founder of the studio, says player expectations have clearly changed over the last 10 to 15 years.
According to De Waubert de Genlis, players were once more willing to accept that an Early Access game was not finished yet. In today’s market, an incomplete version can draw criticism more quickly, even when it comes from a well-known studio. The provided information ties that observation to Endless Legend 2, which the source says is expected to leave Steam Early Access roughly a year after post-launch development begins. The source does not give an exact date for version 1.0, nor does it provide a specific month or day.
The article also refers to Amplitude’s history with the model. Endless Space is mentioned as one of the studio’s early games developed with fans through Early Access. That places Endless Legend 2 in a longer line of Amplitude projects that were built with player feedback from an early stage. The source does not mention concrete figures for player counts, sales, wishlists, or review scores for Endless Legend 2, and it also does not provide hard development stats about the length of the Early Access period.
So the core of the report is not a new gameplay reveal, but the studio’s explanation of the changing context around Endless Legend 2. The source emphasizes that the way players judge unfinished releases has shifted over the past 10 to 15 years, while the sequel’s exact 1.0 timing remains open.
Timeline
10 to 15 years ago: according to De Waubert de Genlis, expectations around Early Access were different, with more room for unfinished versions.
More than ten years ago: Endless Space is mentioned as an early Amplitude title developed with players through Early Access.
During Endless Legend 2’s post-launch development: the sequel is in Steam Early Access, with the source saying it is expected to stay there for about a year.
After about a year in Early Access: Endless Legend 2 is expected to leave Steam Early Access, though no exact 1.0 date has been given.
In the current phase of development: Amplitude is using the discussion around Endless Legend 2 to show how the Early Access market has become stricter and more critical.
Background
Amplitude Studios is the French studio behind titles including Endless Space and Endless Legend. In the provided information, the studio is presented as a developer that adopted Early Access early on to gather player feedback during development. That fits with the way the source says the studio worked with fans on earlier projects as well.
The discussion around Endless Legend 2 is mainly about changing player expectations. Romain de Waubert de Genlis is specifically identified as CEO and co-founder of Amplitude Studios. His comments focus on a 10 to 15 year period in which Early Access, in his view, had a different reputation than it does now. The source says players were more likely to accept that a game was still in development, whereas a similar release today may be seen as incomplete or too early.
That makes the context of Endless Legend 2 relevant to the broader history of the model. The source mentions Endless Space as an early Amplitude game developed through Early Access, showing that the studio has long experience with the distribution model. At the same time, the concrete plan for Endless Legend 2 is limited to the note that the game is expected to leave Early Access after about a year. No additional details are given about an exact release schedule, extra content milestones, or a final 1.0 version.
The provided information also contains no numbers about the size of the Early Access release, such as player totals, revenue, downloads, or wishlists. As a result, the report stays focused on the changing attitude toward Early Access itself rather than on commercial performance. The source does note that the discussion around Endless Legend 2 comes from a Kotaku article, but it does not provide further technical or content-specific details about new systems, balance changes, or expansions in the game.
Sources
This article is based on a Kotaku piece about Endless Legend 2 and Romain de Waubert de Genlis’ comments on Early Access.