Early access can sometimes be misleading. This practice of offering a game in development at a lower cost is increasingly used by studios. But behind a good deal sometimes hides a bad surprise for players who come across titles in very poor condition or with very few updates.
Valve recently introduced a new feature on Steam aimed at better informing players before purchasing a game in early access. Now, if a game has not been updated updated for a while, a warning will appear on their page stating: “The last update by the developer was more than [X] months ago. The information and timeline described by the developers may no longer be up to date.”
According to SteamDB, this notification appears for titles that were last updated more than a year ago. While Valve has yet to officially comment on this development, it appears to be a response to the increase in the number of games in Early Access. and player concerns about titles that appear to be abandoned.
Greater transparency for players
This feature is primarily intended to protect consumers by giving them a clear indication of a game's development status. Early Access is a popular model on Steam that allows developers to fund and improve their games based on player feedback. Since its introduction in 2013, Early Access has become a go-to distribution method for many independent studios. Successes like Hades, Subnautica or Baldur’s Gate 3 have proven the effectiveness of this model when it is well managed.
However, some projects are left abandoned without explanation, leaving buyers with an incomplete game and little prospect of evolution. This warning could therefore encourage studios to be more transparent about the status of their project.
For players, this means better visibility on the frequency of updates update and a way to avoid investing in games that are no longer actively supported. Those who prefer to buy only games that are in active development will be able to filter their choices accordingly.
A sufficient measure?
While this warning is a step in the right direction, it does not completely solve the problem of abandoned games. Some players are calling for a stricter policy from Valve, including, for example, easier refunds for games in early access that have not been updated for a long period of time. Others argue that Valve should impose more concrete commitments on developers who want to use this model.
Either way, this new feature gives players another tool to make more informed choices. Whether this will actually encourage studios to be more rigorous in monitoring their games in development remains to be seen.
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