Steam Begins Labeling Abandoned Early Access Games

Steam has introduced a new feature designed to protect users from unpleasant surprises when buying Early Access games. Now, on the store pages of projects where developers have been inactive for an extended period, a special marker will appear, indicating a long absence of updates. This decision comes in response to years of complaints from the community about "forgotten" games that never made it out of beta testing.

If a game hasn’t received patches or news from its creators for over a year, a warning will appear under the Early Access section: "Last update released on [date]. Developer information may be outdated." At the same time, studios retain the ability to post explanations—for instance, about development challenges or release plans. According to SteamDB representatives, the system is automated and doesn’t require manual moderation.

Early Access has long been a crowdfunding tool, but many projects vanish due to a lack of resources or ambition. These new markers will not only warn players but also encourage studios to be more transparent. Experts note that this update could boost trust in Steam, which has previously faced criticism for "low-quality" releases. The platform is demonstrating a commitment to catalog quality while motivating developers to communicate more actively with their audience. For players, it’s a risk-reduction tool: instead of scouring reviews or forums, they can simply glance at the warning.