Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Steam Pulls Earth: Year 2066 From Early Access, Offers Refunds
Following a high level of player criticism, the game Earth: Year 2066 has been pulled from Steam Early Access, and refunds are being issued for those who purchased the game.
In a statement on the game's Steam page, Valve offered the following statement:
On Steam, developers make their own decisions about promotion, features, pricing and publication. However, Steam does require honesty from developers in the marketing of their games.
We have removed Earth: Year 2066 from Early Access on Steam. Customers who purchased the game will be able to get a refund on the store page until Monday May 19th.
Other than being a terrible game, according to player feedback, Earth: Year 2066 was apparently built using assets that come included with the Unity development kits along with other assorted art assets used without permission.
[Source: Earth: Year 2066 on Steam, via The Escapist]
Our Take
Steam Early Access can be a dangerous gamble, but for the most part developers have been using it effectively for its intended purpose. This is one of the cases where it looks like Steam Early Access was used purely to make some money from an incomplete game. Steam doesn't often give refunds or have many options in general to get money back on purchases, but this along with other recent changes, shows the popular PC game distributor is starting to change its ways in a positive way.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
