Best Games in Early Access on Steam
One of the best things to happen to indie game development is the advent of the Early Access release window. No longer are developers confined to simply working on a game until it's ready. Instead, titles can now be released under the Early Access label and go through their iterative process with players assisting, providing valuable feedback to those same developers, and helping their games grow into the experiences that players want to see. Some of the best PC games in recent memory began their life as Early Access titles, and just looking through the Early Access listings on Steam today shows that it continues to be a viable release strategy for getting new and exciting games into the hands of players and letting them build an audience long before their official 1.0 release.
Project Zomboid
- Early Access Launch Date — November 8, 2013
- Projected Release Date — TBA
- Developer — The Indie Stone
- Publisher — The Indie Stone
- Genre — Survival, Open-World
- Steam User Score — 94% (Very Positive)
Funnily enough, one of the earliest shining stars of the Early Access label was Project Zomboid, which, 12 years later, is still in Early Access development as The Indie Stone tweaks and balances gameplay. But all the effort that Project Zomboid's developer has put into the game has paid off in it being one of the most feature-rich and immersive zombie survival games on the market. Rather than opt for incredibly flashy visuals or other bells and whistles that other zombie survival games have adopted, Project Zomboid lets its gameplay and complex, intertwined systems speak for themselves, and the recent vehicles update added last year sees the title inching ever closer to its official 1.0 launch, according to the roadmap.
Abiotic Factor
- Early Access Launch Date — May 2, 2024
- Projected Release Date — Summer 2025
- Developer — Deep Field Games
- Publisher — Playstack
- Genre — Survival, Open-World
- Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
Despite being one of the newer best games in Early Access, Abiotic Factor has already earned itself a bit of a cult following, and it also happens to be set for an official 1.0 launch sometime this summer. An open-world, crafting, base-building survival game with first-person combat and an emphasis on co-op, Abiotic Factor blends several different genres into something compelling and wraps them in an undeniably cool sci-fi aesthetic. To its credit, Deep Field Games has continued to make the game progressively better with each update, and the level of content on offer in its current Early Access state is more than some AAA retail titles arrive with.
Witchfire
- Early Access Launch Date — September 23, 2024
- Projected Release Date — 2026
- Developer — The Astronauts
- Publisher — The Astronauts
- Genre — FPS, Extraction Shooter
- Steam User Score — 92% (Very Positive)
Among Early Access titles, Witchfire is something special, and knowing its developer's pedigree helps to clear up why. The Astronauts is comprised of former devs from People Can Fly, the studio behind the excellent and underrated Bulletstorm, and Witchfire's strong gunplay and addictive gameplay loop are clearly indebted to it. But more than just a high-fantasy FPS with great gunplay and challenging combat, Witchfire is an excellent PvE extraction shooter that does away with the PvP component many other games in the subgenre have to focus on being something akin to a first-person Dark Souls. While its scope of content is somewhat limited now, the full release of Witchfire seems poised to see the game become an instant classic.
Manor Lords
- Early Access Launch Date — April 26, 2024
- Projected Release Date — TBA
- Developer — Slavic Magic
- Publisher — Hooded Horse
- Genre — Strategy, Simulation, City-Builder
- Steam User Score — 86% (Very Positive)
Formerly the most wishlisted game on Steam, Slavic Magic's Manor Lords is quite the impressive achievement. Even more so when you realize that, for the most part, Slavic Magic is just one developer. Manor Lords is an incredibly ambitious city-builder and simulation game aimed at replicating an authentic medieval experience, complete with Total War-style battles and some absolutely stunning visuals. It's the game's commitment to historical accuracy that helps it stand out compared to other strategy and city-building titles, but players continue to support and come back to Manor Lords because, ultimately, it's just a great game.
Schedule I
- Early Access Launch Date — March 24, 2025
- Projected Release Date — 2027
- Developer — TVGS
- Publisher — TVGS
- Genre — Action, Simulation
- Steam User Score — 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
Released just a few weeks ago at the end of March, Schedule I has already made quite a name for itself by quickly becoming one of the best-selling and most talked-about games on Steam. Essentially a more fleshed-out, 3D version of the old "Drug Wars" game that would get loaded onto a TI-85 calculator, Schedule I lets players live out their own less-intense version of a Breaking Bad-style fantasy in which they get to simulate becoming a drug kingpin. Schedule I was subject to some debunked controversy thanks to some apparent similarities to another game, but it's vastly different (and arguably a much better experience) than the title in question.
Lethal Company
- Early Access Launch Date — October 23, 2023
- Projected Release Date — TBA
- Developer — Zeekerss
- Publisher — Zeekerss
- Genre — Co-op, Survival Horror
- Steam User Score — 97% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
An instant hit upon its original Early Access launch, Lethal Company has only continued to thrive as one of the highest-rated games on Steam and a must-have title for any library (especially so given its very consumer-friendly price of $9.99). While Lethal Company is billed as a co-op survival horror game, it's admittedly just as funny as it is scary. A large part of Lethal Company's pull rests on the fact that playing with friends makes it just as likely that one of them will pull a prank on you as it is that you'll face a genuine threat, and that uncertainty and constant feeling of unease elevates Lethal Company far beyond several other titles that have tried to follow in its footsteps.
Phasmophobia
- Early Access Launch Date — September 18, 2020
- Projected Release Date — 2026
- Developer — Kinetic Games
- Publisher — Kinetic Games
- Genre — Co-op, Survival Horror
- Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
At this point, Phasmophobia has been in Early Access for almost 5 years. But that hasn't stopped the title from becoming a blockbuster on Steam and an incredibly popular title for players to stream on sites like Twitch. Like Lethal Company, Phasmophobia is a co-op survival horror game where communication and teamwork are paramount, but it swaps corporate satire and mutated monsters for some genuinely terrifying psychological horror and spectral apparitions. As far as ghost games go, it doesn't get much better than Phasmophobia, and the title is apparently still roughly a year out from its official 1.0 launch.
No Rest for the Wicked
- Early Access Launch Date — April 18, 2024
- Projected Release Date — TBA
- Developer — Moon Studios
- Publisher — Moon Studios
- Genre — ARPG, Soulslike
- Steam User Score — 76% (Mostly Positive)
Following the studio's work on the critically acclaimed Ori games, Moon Studios took a sharp left turn into ARPG territory with its latest release, No Rest for the Wicked. No Rest for the Wicked has had a bit of a rough go so far, including losing its publisher immediately after its Early Access launch and Moon Studios needing to pivot to buying the rights back, but it's steadily improved since that initial rocky start to become an upcoming Soulslike that is bursting with promise. The most recent "The Breach" update sees a ton of new content arriving alongside some tweaks to the core gameplay loop and balancing, and it already feels like a completely different (and better) game just a year later.
Palworld
- Early Access Launch Date — January 19, 2024
- Projected Release Date — TBA
- Developer — Pocketpair
- Publisher — Pocketpair
- Genre — Creature Tamer, Survival, ARPG
- Steam User Score — 94% (Very Positive)
Originally billed as "Pokémon with guns", Palworld was nothing short of a viral sensation at the time of its original Early Access launch. But as players began to dive into all that Palworld had to offer, they quickly discovered that it was a lovingly crafted title rich with ideas and innovations that players had been begging for in the mainline Pokémon series for years. Regardless of how you feel about creature collecting games, there's something in Palworld for just about every kind of gamer, and the level of support from its community in the wake of Nintendo's lawsuits against both the game and its developer, Pocketpair, show that it's a title people have a deep appreciation for before it's even hit 1.0.
Hades II
- Early Access Launch Date — May 6, 2024
- Projected Release Date — TBA
- Developer — Supergiant Games
- Publisher — Supergiant Games
- Genre — Action Roguelike
- Steam User Score — 94% (Very Positive)
The original Hades found incredible success in Early Access ahead of its official launch and Game of the Year win, so it makes perfect sense for Supergiant Games to take the same approach with its surprise sequel, Hades II. The first sequel to ever come from Supergiant Games, Hades II goes well beyond being just "more Hades" thanks to its brand-new protagonist and her completely unique feel and set of abilities. That said, Hades II is still a narrative-driven action roguelike with incredible art direction and strong writing at its core, so fans of the first Hades will still find plenty to love.