Unless you’re a game by Bethesda, most people (and most reviewers) are going to assess you at release. If the release is shit, they’re going to stop playing and forget about the game. A patch 12 weeks later won’t help, because everyone has moved on.
As someone who used to have a lot of time for gaming, and now has basically no time for gaming, I really like an RPG that puts quality ahead of quantity. The Outer Worlds and Far Cry 6 were the two that stand out in my mind.
I’ve had to skip Diablo 4 because I know I just don’t have the time, and I’m looking forward to Starfield with some worry because it’s going to be Skyrim size.