Steam has introduced an important new feature for Early Access games, aimed mainly at developers but also very useful for players. The update allows studios to clearly show the expected release date of version 1.0, making the Early Access process more transparent.
Until now, Steam’s interface did not allow developers to display a planned release date for the full version of an Early Access game. As a result, store pages could only show vague messages such as “Coming Soon,” without giving players a clear idea of when the game might be finished.
A Key Piece Of Information For Players
With this update, developers can now choose to display the expected release date for version 1.0 directly on the game’s Steam page. The information appears just below the usual Early Access notice, making it easy for users to spot.
Through a simple drop-down menu, developers can decide how precise they want to be. They can show an exact release date or a more general timeframe, such as a specific month, quarter, or year. Even an approximate date is a big improvement compared to the lack of information seen before.
This change helps make communication between developers and players much clearer. Users who are interested in a game but prefer to wait for the full release can now better understand how long the Early Access phase is expected to last.
In other news, Epic Games has openly admitted that Epic does not expect to ever surpass Steam.
