Steam Introduces Warnings for Early Access Games Lacking Updates for Over a Year

Valve has introduced a new feature for people exploring Steam Early Access games—a handy alert that reveals if a game hasn’t been updated in the past year. This change was first noticed by SteamDB, and it appears as a warning at the top of the Early Access developer Q&A. It informs prospective buyers about the last time the game was updated, giving them valuable insight before making a purchase.

Valve has also provided an update on Steamworks to explain this new feature in detail. According to their statement, if a game hasn’t received any updates or had any ‘update’ type events announced by its developers within 12 months, a notification will be added to its store page. You’ll find this note just above the Developer Questionnaire section, serving as a gentle reminder that the game has not seen any activity for a while.

This notification will appear if one of two conditions is met: either it’s been more than a year since a build was designated as the ‘default’ branch in Steamworks, or it’s been over a year since developers posted any ‘update’ type event. These events can include Major Updates, Regular Updates, or Patch Notes.

Throughout its existence, Early Access has been home to projects that developers have completely abandoned. This new feature aims to provide clarity to potential players, ensuring they know what they’re getting into before spending their money.