Steam, a digital distribution service for computer games owned by Valve, has introduced a new feature for early access projects. If a game hasn't received updates in a long time, a notification will appear on its page in the store.
Although the company hasn't officially announced the feature, it has been noticed by SteamDB, an online service for tracking information about games and other content available on the platform, as well as a number of gaming publications.
For example, the Cavern Kings game page contains a warning that the developers have not updated the game in eight years. This is enough time to conclude that the game has been abandoned, even though the developer has since moved on to another project.
At the same time, the message may also appear for active projects. Another example, the game Heartbound was flagged for lack of updates for 13 months, coinciding with a wave of mostly negative reviews. However, its developer recently explained the delay and released an update on February 1.
Screenshot is takes from the Steam platform
Steam's Early Access Program helps developers bring their ideas to life in the early stages. However, not all games in this program make it to full release. The new system should help users avoid purchasing projects that are likely to be frozen or abandoned.
