Minecraft version 1.5 was released today, and with it came a slew of newbie-friendly gameplay enhancements which make the initially-daunting building game rather easier to get into. The new Achievements system guides players through the first things they should be doing in the game's blocky world, and effectively acts as an unobtrusive (and optional) tutorial. But how many people had already given up on Notch's indie hit before now? I certainly had; I only came back to it recently after the urging of a few people who were good enough to point me in the direction of the . Now I love it -- but there's sure to be plenty of people in a similar situation who leave it behind forever.

This is the problem with releasing something early: there's always the chance that people won't like it in its unfinished state. And the public, not being game developers themselves, believe that something on display should be in a good, playable state -- however many disclaimers you might put on the loading screens.

That isn't stopping many publishers -- both mainstream and independent -- from taking this "early beta" approach, whether it's to hook in an early audience or to allow the community to be a part of the development process.

The recent Gears of War 3 beta is a prime example. Gears of War 3 isn't due out until September, but people are already playing it. There are only so many trailers, previews and news stories you can provide the community with before they start losing interest. But allow them to actually and you've got another matter altogether. Now the Internet -- Twitter in particular -- is awash with both journalists and members of the public discussing the game long before it's set to hit store shelves. A textbook example of viral promotion at work, without a penny of marketing budget needed. By the time people start to tire of the multiplayer component on offer, the single player and cooperative campaign will be ready to play. And after that, players can jump back into the all-new, non-beta multiplayer modes.

Indie developers, too, are jumping aboard the early beta bandwagon. Many upcoming titles -- and turn-based deathmatcher among the most prominent examples -- are released for pre-order at a low price, with the opportunity to play early versions of the game included as part of the deal. Gamers who invest early in these titles may well be playing unfinished products that in some cases have glaring flaws and bugs in them, but developers such as Minecraft's Notch and Frozen Synapse's Mode 7 seem very happy to take on board fan feedback to make their games the best possible experiences when they do feel ready to say "it's finished" and release to the public at full price.