Years ago, indie game developers discovered that empowering their communities to contribute to development, testing, and marketing is the key to building an impactful (and profitable) game on a tight budget. Releasing early access builds and doing community playtesting offers a huge spectrum of benefits from practical bug testing to getting feedback on identifying and connecting their game with the exact target audience. All without spending money to acquire that information and service.
By involving their communities early and often, game developers also build a network of evangelists that feel a personal connection to the project. These advocates generate hype, content, and general grassroots goodwill simply because they are genuinely excited to do so. This is a resource that’s nearly impossible to buy.