Online PC game seller Good Old Games (GOG) has announced the launch of Games in Development, a new storefront that allows consumers to purchase games before they are finished in a model similar to that of Steam Early Access.

The library of available games is sparse at the moment, but GOG managing director Piotr Karwowsk says that is by design.

“With games in development we have no way of judging the final product,” Karwowsk told Gamasutra. “That makes things a bit more difficult and a bit more risky — and that’s why our goal is to minimize the long-term dangers by choosing the projects we think are most likely to succeed.”

Karwowsk said that GOG will be curating the games available through Games in Development, and the site will only choose projects that it believes will be seen through to completion.

“We look at many factors when making the final call, things like the development roadmap, what the game offers to players in its current state, the developer’s track record or experience where applicable and so on,” Karwowsk explained. “We’re also going to be looking at our community wishlist to pick out the games that are being requested by our most dedicated audience.”

This system is designed to avoid fiasco’s like what happened with the Steam Early Access game Towns, which was abandoned in the middle of development yet was still pushed out as a completed product on the Steam Store. Towns currently holds a “Mostly Negative” review score on Steam.

When asked how Games in Development stacks up against Steam Early Access, Karwowsk said that competition is good for the industry.

“From a customer’s perspective competition is always a good thing, and as far as many developers are concerned, the old saying about keeping all eggs in one basket is just as relevant as ever.”

“But both arguments aside, this is the way for devs to reach a much broader audience. This doesn’t just mean the GOG.com community, but also gamers who have been skeptical or wary of the entire model. Our approach, particularly with the no-questions-asked-refunds, is meant to let gamers comfortably explore new games in development and go from asking ‘why?’ to a simple: ‘why not?'”

Currently, there are only five games available for purchase through the new storefront: Starbound, Ashes of the Singularity, Project Zomboid, TerraTech, and Curious Expedition. Developers interested in participating in the program can submit their games for consideration through www.gog.com/indie.

Screenshot via GOG.com