Developer Tripwire Interactive released its cooperative first-person shooter Killing Floor 2 in Steam Early Access back in April, and by all accounts it was a great success. In its Early Access review, GameSpot said that Killing Floor 2 was awesome, even if it launched with just three maps and seven characters.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Tripwire Interactive VP Alan Wilson said that Killing Floor 2’s Early Access was successful because the developer treated the fact that players were paying $30 for it very seriously.

“We do not subscribe to the view that things that go into Early Access should be broken,” Wilson said. “Yeah, there’s probably going to be the odd, lurking bug. But at that point, we’re asking people to part with their money, and they should not be getting a broken product. I think that’s where a number of people are going wrong with Early Access. They’re treating it like a paid beta.”

As Wilson explained, and as we’ve seen with cases in which Early Access games were in such a poor state Valve had to be pull them from the Steam Store, not everyone takes Early Access as seriously as Tripwire interactive.

“I think when they threw Early Access out there, Valve were expecting developers to be… mature about it–let’s put it that way–to be mature about it and respect their clients and get it through their skull that you’re asking for money at this point, so you do not piss about.”

Killing Floor 2 hit Steam Early Access on April 21, and is slated for a final release on PC and PlayStation 4 in 2015. For more on the game, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.