Meanwhile, ConcernedApe is out there quietly adding more and more free features to an eight year old game: Stardew Valley. All while working on a completely new title that will release... eh, eventually.

I have no issue with people shipping unfinished products, as long as they're transparent about it. But using it as a way to lower expectations for a buggy "final" product, while charging more for the updates, is just crummy. At least bundle it in, turn off "early access", and raise the price appropriately. If it has DLC, the core game is "done" in my book.

Edit: thanks for the robust conversation on this thread.

I'll add this clarification: clearly there are outliers and exceptions to all this. It's entirely possible to have something incomplete, and still be worth treating like a full release, DLC and all.

To me, I think the key dividing line is determined by the overall "buginess" or "playability" of the product. If something has broken mechanics or is full of game-destroying bugs, and it negatively impacts the overall fun factor, that's the case I'm talking about here. As a game's main job is to package joy for other people, it's pretty easy to see how a developer or publisher is just seeking a payday at your expense.