Steam Now Warns Players About Inactive Early Access Games

Steam recently introduced a new tool that alerts users if a game in Early Access hasn’t been updated for an extended period. The purpose of this modification is to help gamers understand whether the developers have stopped working on the game they are following. If a game doesn’t receive any updates for a year, Steam displays a message on its store page to caution potential buyers or current players that the game information might be outdated.

Prior to this addition, gamers had limited insights into the progress of Early Access games. Frequently, numerous games were left undeveloped for extended periods, with minimal or no updates. Regrettably, in certain instances, developers vanished, abandoning their projects midway, leaving players dissatisfied and the games unfinished.

As an enthusiastic gamer, I appreciate the recent enhancement in our system that flags potentially abandoned games, giving me a moment’s pause before making a purchase. For instance, when browsing the store for Early Access titles, there’s now a clear indication of how long it’s been since the last update – this notice appears after a year without any activity. Yet, it’s not perfect.

The primary concern lies in the unclear definition of what constitutes an “update” within Steam’s system. For instance, certain games may continue to be labeled as inactive despite receiving minor modifications or adjustments that aren’t reflected on their store pages. This ambiguity could potentially cause confusion, with games under active development but experiencing fewer significant updates appearing to be abandoned to some users.

Beyond that, certain games experiencing prolonged periods without updates now display a warning, whereas titles like Kerbal Space Program 2 have yet to be flagged, despite similar long gaps. This new approach, however, is geared towards fostering greater openness between developers and gamers. This is especially relevant for independent games, as their creators often work with restricted resources, necessitating extra time to polish their projects.

While it has its benefits, some gamers feel there’s room for improvement. They believe that games under continuous development, which haven’t had an update in more than a year, shouldn’t necessarily be labeled as “abandoned.” Instead, the labeling system should clarify that these games are actively being developed, though significant updates might come infrequently. This would help to better represent games that follow a slow or episodic development approach.

Regardless, this aspect serves as an advantage for Steam, enhancing the visibility of games for players and aiding them in making wiser selections.

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2025-02-06 03:44