Valve has introduced a new feature on Steam that alerts users if a game early access has not received an update in a long period of time. This move aims to help users make wiser purchasing decisions by providing information about the game's development status.
Since its introduction in 2013, the program early access Steam has been a platform for many developers to release their games before the final version is available. Some of the successful titles that debuted through early access among others Hades, Subnautica, RimWorld, Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Baldur's Gate 3. However, not all games reached their final version; some of them stalled in development and were never completed.
Previously, to know if a game early access is still under active development or has been deprecated, users should read the review users or looking for updates from developers. Now, with this new warning feature, Steam displays a message on the pages of games that have not been updated for more than a year. The message reads: "The last update made by the developer was more than [x] months ago. The information and schedule described here by the developer may no longer be current." This warning will be updated every month and year according to the length of time since the last update.
Although Valve has not officially announced this feature, this addition is a positive step considering the growing number of games that use the development model early access. According to data from SteamDB, the number of games released through early access increased from seven games in 2013 to 2,605 games last year.
In addition to this alert feature, Valve has also continued to improve the Steam platform by adding features such as game video recording, embeddable notes, improved review filtering and new family sharing options. In March last year, Valve also introduced the ability for Steam users to mark certain titles in their library as private, preventing others from seeing when they play the game.
With this warning, it is hoped that users can be more cautious and have realistic expectations when purchasing games in the stage of early access. This feature also encourages greater transparency between developers and the player community, ensuring that the information provided is accurate and up-to-date.
Overall, this move demonstrates Valve's commitment to improving the user experience on Steam and supporting more transparent and responsible game development.
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Source: Eurogamer
