Survey: 56.7% of Steam Early Access games idle for over a year
A Gamer Of Passion analysis of Steam data found 6,989 of 12,320 Early Access titles had gone more than a year without an update as of September 26, 2026.
A survey published on October 10, 2026 by the user gamerofpassion on the game blog Gamer Of Passion found that 6,989 of the 12,320 games in Steam Early Access — 56.7% — had not been updated for over a year as of September 26, 2026, according to the blog's analysis.
The picture is sharper for older projects. Of the 9,063 games that had been in Early Access for more than a year, 6,977, about 77%, had gone at least a year without an update.
Longer stays, fewer updates
Among games with at least 10 reviews, the share without recent updates grows with time spent in Early Access: 34% for games in the program for one to two years, 57% for two to three years, and 87% for over five years.
Full release, however, is far from rare. Among 4,632 games with at least 10 reviews that fully launched between 2020 and 2025, 87% left Early Access within three years. Review volume tracks with completion: 30.8% of games with under 10 reviews reached full release, compared with 78.8% of those with 1,000 or more.
The analysis concerns Steam's Early Access system, which lets developers release unfinished games and update them toward a full release. Valve automatically attaches a notice to Early Access titles that have not been updated for at least 12 months.
Quick answers
How many Steam Early Access games have not been updated in over a year?
As of September 26, 2026, 6,989 of the 12,320 games in Steam Early Access — 56.7% — had not been updated for over a year, according to the Gamer Of Passion survey.
Do most Early Access games eventually reach full release?
Among 4,632 games with at least 10 reviews that fully released between 2020 and 2025, 87% left Early Access within three years, the survey found.
What does Valve do when an Early Access game goes a year without an update?
Valve automatically attaches a notice to Early Access titles with no update for at least 12 months.