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ABOUT Steamworks Development

Official Group for Steamworks Development Support

NOTE: This group is restricted and visible only to accounts with Steamworks access. Announcements however are public.

This community of Steamworks developers is intended for sharing information regarding Steam and Steamworks development.

Please use the Discussions to ask Steam and Steamworks related questions. You'll also find FAQs and responses to other common questions in there.

And we'll post announcements for relevant updates and changes involving Steamworks SDK.

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RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
New: Early Access developers can list their planned "1.0" release date
6 February - TomG | 6 Comments

We recently introduced a new field in Steamworks for Early Access games, providing a dedicated space to display the date when a game plans to exit Early Access and officially launch 1.0.

How does it work?

Products that are currently in Early Access have a dedicated Early Access tab in their Edit Store Page tools. At the bottom of that page, developers will now find a date picker to select a planned 1.0 release date.

Just as with Coming Soon pages on Steam, developers have the option to share a specific calendar date, or a more vague timeframe if they wish.

After the developer saves and publishes their change, customers will see the planned 1.0 release date publicly in the store, like so:

Why did we add this new option?

Occasionally, developers with a game in Early Access would ask us proactively if there was any official place to display a planned 1.0 date. They wanted existing and potential players to know about their plans. Many studios were already sharing their 1.0 dates in other places-- within the text description on the store page, via Steam Event news posts, on social media, in their forums, and so on.

Last year we introduced the Steam Personal Calendar, and realized one valuable kind of 'release' was missing from the UI: upcoming transitions from Early Access to 1.0. With an official 1.0 date display, we could give those transitions an official display in Personal Calendar, and help address the developer requests around formally showcasing the planned 1.0 release.

What should developers do next?

If you have a game currently in Early Access, you have some decisions to make. Early Access can be challenging and unpredictable, and it's perfectly normal for a studio to change plans, or simply not know when the time might be right for 1.0.

Our advice is:

1) Just because this feature exists, does not mean you should or must use it. It makes sense to use this date display only if you are already communicating directly with your players about a planned date for your 1.0 release, when you have a very high degree of confidence.

2) When in doubt, wait. Setting a specific calendar date can cause confusion or disappointment if you end up missing that date. Building and maintaining trust with your community is an important part of Early Access, and there is no pressure to establish a 1.0 release time far in advance.

Finally, remember that Early Access is a tool available to developers. Many games don't want or need to use Early Access, and that's fine. This new option is only available to games that are actively for sale in Early Access, and has no effect on the broader Release Date and Coming Soon tools or displays across Steam.

If you run into any issues making use of this new feature, or you have suggestions for other things we could add to improve Early Access on Steam, reach out to us any time!

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Update to Accessibility categories
21 January - marcw_***** | 15 Comments

Last year, we added new discoverability features for accessibility, and began surfacing these details throughout the store to help players more easily find games that meet their needs. The response from Steam users and developers has been overwhelmingly positive: Over 22,000 apps have completed the accessibility questionnaire in Steamworks, and we've collected super useful suggestions for improvement.   

Which leads us to this post!

Based on this valuable feedback, we have made the following updates to our Accessibility categories as of Jan 20th: 

Updates

Renaming "Playable without Timed Input" to "Playable without Quick Time Events"

We've heard feedback about this name being confusing and players interpreting it more broadly than it was intended. We're changing the name to reflect that this specifically means QTEs, which is in line with what we've consistently communicated to publishers. 

Adding a new tag under the "Input" Category called "Playable at Your Own Pace"
The idea here is that games that don't involve anything action or timing-based (ie most visual novels, turn based games, etc) can use this tag to indicate that players can take as long as they need for each input.

Adding a new tag under the "Visual" Category called "Playable without Vision"
There are a few games on Steam designed specifically for visually-impaired players, and others with good screen reader support (i.e. some visual novels). This new tag will help visually-impaired players find these games.  

Adding a new tag under the  "Visual" Category called "Contrast Controls"
This isn't the same thing as Color Alternatives, which is mostly focused on color blind options. This reflects letting you adjust the contrast, enable a dark mode, etc.

Actions to take for developers

If you have a game that might be affected by one of these changes, you can retake the Accessibility questionnaire anytime after January 20th.

Have more Feedback?
We've been working to gather valuable feedback from developers as well as gamers with disabilities (including visual, audio, and other physical challenges and impairments) to bring what we hope is a more positive experience on Steam for all. Let us know your thoughts in the Steamworks forums.

Infrequently Asked Questions

Q. Where can I find more information on the Accessibility Tags that Steam uses?
A. You can find more information HERE.  

Q. When are these changes taking place?
A. January 20th, 2026.  

Q. Where can I find the Accessibility questionnaire for my game?
A. The questionnaire is located in the "Edit Store Page" section and the "Basic Info" tab. 

Q. Are developers required to add their accessibility features on Steam?
A. It's not required, but developers are highly encouraged to add their Accessibility features on Steam. 

Q. Who can I ask about missing accessibility features on games?
A. Specific accessibility feature tagging is managed by the developers of that title so we'd recommend reaching out to that developer for more info.

Q. I have a question not listed here. Where can I get an answer?
A. Please hit the 'support' link at the top of Steamworks and fill in a ticket to send us your question or feedback.

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