When you click on an early access game on Steam, you might see a new note that could give an idea whether its developer has already abandoned the project. As SteamDB first reported, Steam has started adding notes on games' official pages if they haven't been updated in a while.

The Steam notice can tell you if a game that still needs work hasn’t been updated in months or even years.

It’s still not exactly clear what updates are substantial enough to reset the counter and how long it takes between updates for it to appear. Open-world survival zombie sim Project Zomboid has been in Early Access on Steam for over a decade and doesn’t show the new warning because it still receives regular updates. Its last one was in January.

Valve just implemented a welcome warning message that proves the company continues to put its Steam customers first.

My Steam library is massive already, and Valve isn't making managing any easier given the discounts I've been getting on new games.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

It's got its ups and downs, but I rather like Steam early access. Being able to get in on the ground floor of something, watch it develop, and support developers whose ambitions might exceed their initial budgets is a neat thing.

Steam now shows when Early Access games were last updated. The update appears if a game goes 12 months without an update. This feature helps you avoid wasting money on dead games. Early access games are a great way to test titles in development,

Valve now warns players about inactive games in Early Access to prevent purchasing abandoned projects. Games with over a year of inactivity receive a warning, with 20+ months labeled as high risk. Developers must update store pages regularly to avoid warnings and mislead players.

It's not a universally applied system yet, but Steam will now tell players if an Early Access game hasn't been updated in over a year.

Steam has rolled out a subtle change to the store pages of early access games, seemingly in an attempt to warn players about purchasing an in-development title that might have been abandoned by its developers.