Steam's quiet update holds early access developers accountable

The early access model has been a staple for game developers who want to secure both funding and player feedback throughout the development process. In a recent update, however, Valve aims to hold developers accountable by introducing a new warning feature that informs players if a title hasn't been updated in over 12 months.

Sightings of the feature first appeared on Bluesky, with SteamDB's account uploading a screenshot of the new warnings.

Valve appeared to have shadow-dropped the feature, with no official statement or patch notes issued regarding the update. On the surface, it appears to be driven by a need for consumer protection, as many players have been burned by early access games that are dead, abandoned, or never finished. However, accountability for developers, and improving the quality control of Steam's library are also potential factors.

An empirical study published in 2018 examined the early access model, finding that approximately 15% of Steam games were published through the early access program, with a notable number failing to progress past this stage. Pole to Win, a Japanese co-development agency, also examined the perceptions of early access, finding that players have become frustrated with the model. Citing the lack of content, quantity of bugs, and the overall vagueness surrounding the term as key issues.

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Overall, the new feature appears to be a net positive for gamers, but it may place additional strain on developers given the already challenging process of shipping a game. As Jason Schrier described in the industry deep dive Blood Sweat and Pixels:

"Making a game is like constructing a building during an earthquake or trying to run a train as someone else is laying down track as you go..."

"It's a damn miracle any video game gets made"

On that basis, we wish developers the best of luck.