Early Access on Steam. My game isn't exactly suited for Early Access, it's a single player 2d platformer with a short Story Mode and an Endless Survival Mode. The types of games the succeed on Early Access tent to be FPS, Multiplayer, Sandbox games and Rouge-Likes. This is because they offer plenty of replay value.
Despite this, I think I've made the right decision to go Early Access for the following reasons:
1. You get to launch twice
I've released tons of free games on Flash portals like Newgrounds.com, sometimes the launch went bad and I wished I could turn back time. By launching into Early Access, if anything goes wrong it's not the end of the world because you can launch again! I've learned SO MUCH by launching my first Steam title into EA, I'll be applying these lessons to my full launch.
2. You get more time featured
New Early Access games are featured in the Early Access section - sometimes as New release or in the Specials list. I think it's important to try and get featured/listed as much as possible3. Chance to build a community before launch
Building a community of fans is hard, especially if your game is a new IP AND if you have limited marketing resources. I now have a larger community of players and fans thanks to Early Access. Had I not gone into EA, I would now be facing launch WITHOUT that strengthened community.
So there's my thoughts of Early Access as a strategy. As Kurdle mentioned, blog and send emails to every human :)
My game is Armed with Wings Rearmed - Samurai Limbo on Steroids!