Steam Early Access: Your rights when game development stops

Early Access in an interesting beast. Part of Steam, the world’s largest online gaming platform, this portal enables consumers to buy into games that are still in early development. In theory, you’re buying the right to help test and shape these games and then getting the finished version when it releases. The reality, though, is sometimes different.

Looking through the Steam Early Access catalog, 203 games are available, including big names like open-world zombie title DayZ and survival game Rust. But many Early Access listings have sat there since early 2013, and development on some has ground to a virtual halt.