Early Access, a program that Valve introduced in 2013 as a way of allowing games to be played as they “progress towards a full release” on its immensely popular Steam platform, has received a new feature that gives customers a better idea of whether an Early Access game has been abandoned by its developers or not, according to the listings of various Early Access games that now include a message warning the player if they haven’t been updated in months.
“Note: The last update made by the developers was over [X] months ago,” a sample of the message reads. “The information and timeline described by the developers here may no longer be up to date.”
This message has been applied to several Early Access games that have seemingly been abandoned, including Heartbound, Realm Royale Reforged, Jumplight Odyssey, and ATLAS, a game from the creators of ARK: Survival Evolved that describes itself as being the ultimate pirate experience.
“Set sail for the ultimate pirate experience! Embark on a grand adventure alongside thousands of other players in one of the largest game worlds ever built (and even claim a piece of it to call your own). Build your ship, assemble your crew, sail the high seas, and become a pirate legend!” a description for the game reads.
“Note: The last update made by the developers was over 20 months ago. The information and timeline described by the developers here may no longer be up to date,” reads a warning from Steam.
“Could have been an amazing game, played the hell out of it at and around release. shame it was abandoned and its pretty much dead,” reads a negative review of ATLAS, which launched in December 2018.