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On February 6, 2026, Steam posted an update to Early Access, allowing developers to list their planned “1.0” release date. Previously, games would be made available, and while devs would provide updates hinting at potential release dates, this wasn’t common and wasn’t listed officially anywhere on an Early Access store page. This left players somewhat in the dark, as they could invest a great deal of time in playing an Early Access game only to question when the final product might be made available. With this new change, devs can list the exact date they expect to pull the Early Access plug and launch their wares.
Steam Early Access Will Now List the Planned Release Date
Steam’s Early Access has been a huge hit with players and developers as the platform continues to grow. Any time Steam makes a change to the program, plenty of people take notice. While it may seem almost trivial to reveal a release date on an Early Access storefront, it’s a significant move in the right direction, as it keeps players informed about their purchases. Since an Early Access game costs money and players are told up front that the game they’re paying for is incomplete, there’s an element of trust between them and the developers. Adding any new information regarding a potential release is furthering support of that trust.
Now, when developers list their games on Steam in Early Access, they can choose a specific date, a month and year, a quarter and year, or just the year to explain when they expect to release their finished product. Once this is changed on existing storefronts, or the date is added to new games, the Early Access Game note (pictured above for ARK: Survival Evolved) will feature the following text at the bottom: Leaving Early Access: DATE. Steam added this option because the developers asked for it, as they wanted existing and potential players to know more about the planned release.
