Why not manually download the present install files and store them somewhere safe? Then you always have the EA version if you want that for something.
Anyway - The present version is the Early Access version, that has only the first 1/3 of the first chapter of the game. The full release version game will be the EA (with some changes and tweaks to "fit" into the full game) and the rest of the game added to that. In short - The EA is a cut-down "in development" version of the full game.
The full version of the game has to be downloaded again in full tough. There is no "patching" of the old EA version, so those files are not longer useful if you want to play the full game. This is because the content and all links to content is different from the EA version, and a patch would probably be just as big as the full version anyway.
Keep in mind that the Early Access save games will not work in the full release version of the game. You have to start all over again in the full version.
Post edited July 29, 2023 by JClosed