Steam's new feature brings more transparency to early access games

Another big win for Valve

Valve has now introduced a new feature on Steam in the recent update, which could make a huge difference for players who invest their time and money in early access titles.

The new update now focuses on improving transparency by allowing developers to display a planned timeline for when their games are expected to leave early access and launch at full release. Let’s check out more details in this article.

Know more details about Steam’s new feature

During development, gamers often give money and time to a project, but it is never clear when version 1.0 will be reached, or even whether it will be released.

As the new feature, the developers can now add a visible field on their Steam store page with a declaration of when they are expected to leave early access, either on the next day or in a specific year.

Nowadays, early access has become an important part of game development. In recent years, we have seen several successful titles has used this model to get feedback from the fans, then improve the gameplay, fix the bugs, optimize it more and secure funding while still in development.

However, many times this model has also faced criticism when the game remains in early access for a longer period of time without any release planned or clear communication with the fans.

Valve’s new feature is designed to address this specific issue. The company says that many developers had already requested an official way of indicating their planned 1.0 release dates.

In the past, the studios would broadcast such information in the form of descriptions of the stores, news articles, updates on social media, and in forums.

The introduction of a separate field by Steam tries to make clear what is expected of the existing users and those who plan to buy it.

Also Read: Valve’s Steam machine: Similar pricing with current PC market

Conclusion

Valve has also cautioned the developers against using this feature unless they are reasonably confident about their planned release timeline.

Setting unrealistic expectations and then not meeting them might result in losing player trust and can also result in harsh criticism on the internet.

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