Early Access games are nothing new. In fact, games debuting in Early Access is common on Steam, and Valve is now issuing notices on Steam pages of Early Access games that have been abandoned by the devs and stopped receiving updates.
With that said, some games never leave Early Access or spend a long period of time in this state before launching version 1.0. One of the most notable examples of this is the zombie survival game 7 Days to Die, which spent 11 years in Early Access. 7 Days to Die received regular updates and garnered a dedicated community. But, that’s not the case for all Early Access games, especially if they don’t find success.
Flagging those that have abandoned ship
When a game is in Early Access on Steam, it is indicated by a box that informs potential players that the game is in this state. This provides a clear indication that the game isn’t yet complete and the developers are still working on it. Additionally, players know to expect bugs and glitches during their time with the title.
However, an extra message is now included as part of the Early Access notification if a game has been left with no updates for over a year. Machine World 2 is an example of this and although the simulator is still for sale, Steam warns, “the last update made by the developers was over 7 years ago. The information and timeline described by the developers here may no longer be up to date.”
Of course, you can still purchase Steam Early Access games that have been abandoned. The feature is particularly useful to avoid disappointment or having to go through the Steam refund process later down the line.
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