New Steam Early Access Guidelines

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According to this report, Valve is updating its Steam Early Access guidelines to properly "align expectations" for pre-release games.

Valve is presenting developers to help properly align expectations for pre-release games. They say they've confirmed the validity of these with "several developers," and most of these offer ways to accurately describe early access games, while other guidelines look to ensure this is the proper program for them to be using in the first place. Giant Bomb does note, however, that these are guidelines, rather than rules.
 
I've never been a fan of the early access stuff. If I truly believe in the developer and want them to succeed/finish, I might offer a donation but I wouldn't want to actually try the game until it's done. My idea is that you can really only play a game so many times before you're bored with it. Why would I want to wastes those "times" playing the unfinished version? I'd rather wait for the finish product and then play the !@#$%^ out of it! :-D
 
Will never do early access again. Paid to try to support The Golf Club very very early on and found out it was just a console port. It's basically unplayable with a mouse. I should have known better than to basically pre-order software after all the other debacles by the major publishers but I thought I would try to help out a smaller studio. Huge mistake.
 
I've never been a fan of the early access stuff. If I truly believe in the developer and want them to succeed/finish, I might offer a donation but I wouldn't want to actually try the game until it's done. My idea is that you can really only play a game so many times before you're bored with it. Why would I want to wastes those "times" playing the unfinished version? I'd rather wait for the finish product and then play the !@#$%^ out of it! :-D

3 letter rebuttal:

KSP
 
I paid for godus, at the time I felt the game was maybe 2/3 done at worst, within a few months of me paying they decided to go in a new direction, seems was at alpha stage. I think the game still isnt released and it was a while back I paid for it.
 
Early access is fine when the developers are constantly putting out stuff

Games like Starforge on the other hand is exactly why games like it shouldn't be allowed on early access, years in early access, next to no updates on it and when it was finally released there's nothing in it because the developers basically abandoned it
 
As a developer with a game in Early Access (Tabletop Simulator), it really depends on how much time and effort the teams wants to put into their game/project. We try to push out weekly patches and that's with me as a solo programmer. It's the minority bad apples that are ruining it for the rest of us that work hard on our games.

I think it's great Valve is try to set a better example for Early Access titles, because their are way too many abandoned titles. Don't get me wrong not every project works out, the majority of them don't, but there should be a certain standard once you start asking for money.

At the end of the day though it really boils down to the consumers. If people continue to buy half baked games that our abandoned by their studio, they will continue to exist - as simple as that.
 
At the end of the day though it really boils down to the consumers. If people continue to buy half baked games that our abandoned by their studio, they will continue to exist - as simple as that.

Very true, but then Steam actively pushes them with advertising ...
 
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