Early Access Games Surge as Developers Face Rising Player Expectations and New Launches

10/28/2026

The whole Early Access release model has a lot of pros and cons to consider, and some argue that the system is prone to abuse by developers and publishers for all sorts of reasons, but at least...

10/28/2026

Denis Dyack – founder of Silicon Knights and current CEO of Apocalypse Studios – says that AAA publishers' use of Early Access is shifting player expectations and making it harder for independent...

10/28/2026

Everlast: Undying Tale launches into Early Access today. Developer InSpades says their MMO-lite action-adventure is an homage to the classic MMO, featuring an open world, multiple ways to play,...

10/28/2026

Subnautica 2 creative director Anthony Gallegos has spoken about what Unknown Worlds have learned over their many years working in Steam early access, exhorting other devs to add new features "as...

10/27/2026

Open-world action massively multiplayer online RPG ArcheAge Chronicles will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam on November 3 at 3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. ET for $29.99, developer XLGAMES announ…

10/27/2026

Emberville is an upcoming action RPG where players will step into the shoes of an amnesiac protagonist who finds themselves inside Vitromotus — a vast underground area. In this magical dungeon,...

10/27/2026

The number of games released through Steam's Early Access program has risen significantly in recent years. According to SteamDB, 2,924 Early Access games launched on Valve's platform in 2026 (as...

10/27/2026

ArcheAge Chronicles launches into Early Access next week. XL Games announced the date with a new trailer, and pre-order info, following the game's showing as one of the top most-played Steam Next...