Steam Now Warns About Early Access Games That Haven’t Been Updated in Months

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Valve has made some changes to Steam to better help and protect players. In addition to previous updates, where Steam updated store policies to require season passes to specify content and release dates, along with offering refunds for canceled DLC, they are now focusing on Early Access games, making it easier for users to identify those that haven’t received updates for a while.

This update, which was spotted by SteamDB on X (formerly Twitter), introduces a warning that will appear when a game in Early Access hasn’t been updated in 12 months or more. The warning will clearly state how long it’s been since the last update, whether it’s been weeks or months.

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Steam Adds Warning for Early Access Games That Haven’t Been Updated

For example, a game called Lethal Beach has not had any updates since January 2024. The message for these games tells players that the information and timeline from the developers may no longer be accurate, making the Steam store more transparent about the status of Early Access games.

This update is meant to stop players from buying games that have been forgotten or left unfinished by their developers. While players can still ask for refunds, It seems that Valve wants to cut down on refund requests and the hassle of contacting support if a game has been abandoned without notice.

This update is part of other changes Valve is making. Due to a new law in California, Valve now has to tell players that when they buy a game on Steam, they are actually buying a license key, not the game itself. This aims to address concerns about digitally purchased games being shut down and the uncertainty of whether buyers will be able to access the game in the future.

In other news, Valve is rumored to be developing a new console to compete directly with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox, partnering with AMD to use their RDNA4 technology.

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