Mewgenics developers reckon going for a full launch over early access is "a weird thing now"

Mewgenics, the cat breeding roguelike battler from Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, finally saunters out of its litter box with a cheeky smirk next week. It’s been a long time coming, but the developers have opted to make players wait for a full release, rather than going the early access route plenty of games opt for nowadays – the likes of Hades 2 and Wreckfest 2 spring to mind. As a result, McMillen and Glaiel see the way they’ve gone as no longer being the norm, and have shed more light on their reasons for not picking early access.

“We are launching a complete game. That is a weird thing now,” Glaiel told The Escapist. “I’m really not a fan of Early Access,” McMillen added. “I feel like it originated from people needing money fast. I’m not shitting on people who do early access, but it feels strange to change the experience after people have already finished it.”

Glaiel seconded that view, reasoning that: “There’s a handful of situations where it makes sense, like multiplayer stuff. Other than that, I feel like almost anything else would be better.” The due do certainly plan to listen to hands-on player feedback in terms of shaping where Mewgenics goes in future, but in the context of gauging what they might add to it via DLC, rather than shaping the base game.

One aspect that’s made Mewgenics’ route to release a bit unique is that, while waiting until the game’s done to let folks try it fir themselves, McMillen has spent hours streaming his own runs through it, something he points to as having been key in keeping up anticipation as the last few years have ticked by. “If we had never shown gameplay, people would be more frustrated that they still can’t play it,” he said. “Instead, they are getting spoon-fed, but bit by bit. We have fans who watch and think about what choices they would make, so they’re almost playing the game in their heads. They are desperate for another video – they just want another run.”

In my estimation, Mewgenics’ quirky premise and the reputations its developers have cultivated through years of putting together beloved hits like The Binding of Isaac and The End Is Nigh have likely put them in a more ideal position than other studios might be to take the approach of making sure Mewgenics is cooked to near perfection before putting it out. They’ve certainly done a great job over the past couple of years of not being afraid to offer glimpses of their creation on a regular basis, helping abate any fears folks might have about the amount of time it’s spent in development.

Indeed, in this Escapist interview, Glaiel admits that the pair “probably could have released the full game in 2021, roughly, and it would have been okay”. Instead, they decided their preferred approach was to give themselves space to refine the thing, so it’d be as ready as they wanted for the moggy adventures that await when it comes out on February 10th.

If you’re keen to get an idea of what you’re in for if you grab Mewgenics, make sure to check out Callum’s review, which is fresh out of the treehouse catflap.