Valve has quietly introduced a new Steam feature that warns users when an early access game hasn’t received an update in over a year, helping potential buyers make more informed decisions.
Since launching Steam Early Access in 2013, the platform has enabled numerous games to successfully reach full release, including Hades, Subnautica, RimWorld, Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved, and most notably, Baldur’s Gate 3. However, many early access titles never make it to completion, often being abandoned without warning.
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Previously, distinguishing between actively developed and neglected early access games required digging through user reviews and developer updates. Now, as spotted by SteamDB on Bluesky, Valve has streamlined this process by adding a warning message to early access games that haven’t been updated in 12 months. The alert appears in the early access box, stating:
“The last update made by the developer was over [x] months ago. The information and timeline described here by the developers may no longer be up to date.”
The message automatically updates monthly and eventually yearly if no further updates are made.
Valve hasn’t officially commented on the change, but this move aligns with its ongoing efforts to improve the Steam experience. Recent enhancements to the platform have included video game recording, pinned notes, better review filtering, expanded family sharing options, and even a private library feature introduced last March.
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With early access games increasing from just 7 in 2013 to 2,605 in 2023, this transparency update is a welcome addition for Steam users navigating the ever-growing catalog of in-development titles.