Valve warns Steam users over Early Access games

Valve has warned Steam users that some developers may never finish Early Access games in an updated FAQ on the matter.

It stated that some teams may be unable to complete development, so users should only purchase an Early Access title if they are “excited about playing it in its current state”.

The news comes after controversy over certain titles appearing on Early Access, including Earth: Year 2066, which was eventually pulled off the store and refunds were offered due to the extremely poor state of the game.

“The changes to the FAQ are intended to help set customer expectations of what may or may not happen over the course of development of an Early Access game,” said Valve’s Doug Lombardi in a statement to GamesBeat.

“We frequently iterate on Steam features as we gather feedback and find areas for improvement. In this case, it became apparent that further clarification would help customers evaluate their potential purchase of Early Access titles. We think of Steam, Early Access, and game development as services that grow and evolve best with the involvement of customers and the community.”

In total, 203 games currently offer early access, including many of the most popular titles on Steam, with the likes of DayZ, Rust, Starbound and Maia taking advantage of the service to great success.