General: Is Beta the New Launch?

After taking time to read yesterday’s feature on The Upcoming MMOs of 2016 it really seems like more and more games that are launching in 2016 are already playable now. I’ve asked this question years ago when beta keys were given out like candy as a marketing ploy to get new players into the game. Betas are supposed to be for testing, at least, they used to be. Now, instead of being used to market a game, they are just outright used to sell the game in early access.