{
  "id": 16755699,
  "title": "\"Developers need to treat Early Access like a real launch, because players do\" – Early Access games are on the rise, but so are player expectations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/developers-need-to-treat-early-access-like-a-real-launch-because",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-27T13:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "GamesIndustry",
    "slug": "gamesindustry",
    "url": "https://www.gamesindustry.biz/developers-need-to-treat-early-access-like-a-real-launch-because-players-do-early-access-games-are-on-the-rise-but-so-are-player-expectations"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "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 of mid-October), an 18% increase from 2025 and a 60% increase from 2020. Read more",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}