Valve has released a new update to the Steam interface that’ll offer users a prompt detailing how long it has been since an early-access game was last updated. This new feature is designed to prevent gamers from investing in a game that might be abandoned, or from buying one that might not be accurately represented by what’s detailed on the store page.
It’s not immediately obvious what the ‘cut-off point’ is for this label to appear, as not every early-access game has it. Most of them just have the typical breakdown that features an explanation from the developers as to why the game has been released in an early-access state.
Transparency Update
One of the most heartbreaking revelations you can have as a gamer is investing in an early-access game that has you excited, only to find that the developer hasn’t touched it in years. That’s the case with some early-access games on Steam that remain in that state for a very long time after hitting the digital storefront.
Valve’s latest update challenges that notion, letting users know if it has been several months (or more) since the last major update to the game. This change was noticed and publicised on social media by SteamDB.
For instance, Heartbound, which was released in 2018 and remains in early access, was last updated ‘over 13 months ago’. The game was once taken positively by the PC gaming community, but the recent review rating has dropped to Mostly Negative because of the lack of updates.
Another example is a game called ATLAS, which sees players take on an ambitious pirating adventure across the high seas. It looks good enough at first blush, but it has mixed reviews overall – some 36,000 in total. It too was released in 2018 but hasn’t been updated in more than 20 months:
Many early-access games ‘graduate’ from that state, becoming a full-release title that launches with a 1.0 version that’s often bursting with improvements and features. One great example is Sons of the Forest, which was released in early access in February 2023, graduating to a full release one year later and succeeding all over again.
This is a nice move by Valve – but what do you think? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.
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