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| <h1>Advanced Access (Beta)</h1> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="1"></a>What is Advanced Access?</h2> | ||
| Advanced Access is a Pre-Purchase incentive, in which customers that Pre-Purchase a "Deluxe" | ||
| package(s) of your game are given access to the game earlier than customers that Pre-Purchase the | ||
| "Standard" (most basic) package. | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="2"></a>Overview</h2> | ||
| Our experience with advanced access is that it tends to be ineffective unless it’s a heavily | ||
| anticipated, heavily marketed title with a pre-purchase, and even then we encourage developers to | ||
| really understand what goals they have for their title by offering an advanced access period on | ||
| Steam.<br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| For most games, it's more ideal to release the game to all players at the same time. This gives your | ||
| title the biggest opportunity to create buzz and visibility at a point where all players can | ||
| actually share their excitement with all of their friends. In addition, some types of games are just | ||
| not a good fit for advanced access. (Short games, single player narrative heavy games, and games | ||
| where there is a competitive advantage to playing early might all negatively impact player sentiment | ||
| by having an advanced access period) <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| For these reasons, we will not support running advanced access except in a few rare cases with | ||
| partners with which we have a well-established relationship and that have a proven track record on | ||
| Steam. | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="3"></a>How to set up Advanced Access</h2> | ||
| Please reach out to the Steam team directly, either through your contact or | ||
| <a href="https://help.steampowered.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Steam Support</a> and | ||
| inform them of the dates/time of advanced Access and the details of the offer. They will help | ||
| determine if your game is a good fit for advanced access. Advanced Access may not be right for all | ||
| games. For example, games where there’s a competitive advantage to getting a head start could deeply | ||
| impact user sentiment for the overall player base. Another possible poor player experience could be | ||
| a single player narrative game that can be completed in the duration of the Advanced Access where | ||
| you are spreading out users and diminishing the excitement around your launch (and possibly spoiling | ||
| the story before others even have a chance to play.) | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="4"></a>How Steam features are affected by Advanced Access</h2> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_subsection"><a name="5"></a>Refunds</h2> | ||
| During Advanced Access, our refund policy will apply to those packages that receive advanced access. | ||
| Players who purchase a package that grant advanced access will be able to refund the game as per the | ||
| <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" | ||
| >standard refund policy</a | ||
| >. Players who purchased the "Standard" package are still in pre-purchase and can refund at any | ||
| point prior to the release of the game. | ||
| <h2 class="bb_subsection"><a name="6"></a>User Reviews</h2> | ||
| During Advanced Access, players will be able to submit a review for the game. Please refer to our | ||
| <a href="https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"> | ||
| documentation on user reviews.</a | ||
| > | ||
| <h2 class="bb_subsection"><a name="7"></a>Concurrent Users</h2> | ||
| Steam will show the | ||
| <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/charts/mostplayed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"> | ||
| concurrent users</a | ||
| > | ||
| for your game during Advanced Access, | ||
| <h2 class="bb_subsection"><a name="8"></a>Store & Client</h2> | ||
| If it's determined that Advanced Access is a suitable option for your game's pre-purchase, then it | ||
| needs to be communicated to users as part of the incentive. There are a couple places that this | ||
| communication should take place. <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| First, you'll need to describe the pre-purchase incentives and how they differentiate between | ||
| "Standard" and "Deluxe" packages. You'll do that by navigating from your App's Landing Page to "Edit | ||
| Store Page" > "Description" tab > "Special Announcement Section". Make sure you include the | ||
| timing and length of your advanced access period.<br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| We (Steam) will need to stage the Advanced Access start date/time. This information can be | ||
| communicated with a specific Steam contact directly or with the whole team by | ||
| <a | ||
| href="https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing?issueid=902" | ||
| target="_blank" | ||
| rel="noreferrer" | ||
| >submitting a ticket here</a | ||
| >.<br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <ul class="bb_ul"> | ||
| <li> | ||
| The ability to play the game will start at the date/time staged for "Advanced Access" and | ||
| you will not need to release the game. At the Advanced Access date/time Steam will apply a | ||
| "release override" to the applicable package(s). Users with this package will be able to | ||
| play the build on the default branch.<br /> | ||
| </li> | ||
| <li> | ||
| The store will update to show which package(s) grant access to the ability to play.<br /> | ||
| </li> | ||
| <li>The client will update to enable users to play without needing to restart.<br /></li> | ||
| <li>The library will update to show which package(s) grant access to the ability to play.</li> | ||
| </ul> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="9"></a>Full Release of your Game</h2> | ||
| <div class="bb_callout"> | ||
| <div> | ||
| <strong | ||
| >You still need to click the "big green button" to release your game for all | ||
| users</strong | ||
| >. This will transition the game from pre-purchase to release and kick off the | ||
| <a href="https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/marketing/visibility#4" class="bb_doclink" | ||
| >Full Release Launch Visibility</a | ||
| >. | ||
| </div> | ||
| </div> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="10"></a>How your game will be presented in Advanced Access</h2> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_subsection"><a name="11"></a>Before Advanced Access period:</h2> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| Store Page<br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <img | ||
| src="https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/steamworks_docs/english/beforeAA.PNG" | ||
| alt="beforeAA.PNG" | ||
| title="beforeAA.PNG" | ||
| /> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_subsection"><a name="12"></a>During Advanced Access period:</h2> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| Store Page<br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <img | ||
| src="https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/steamworks_docs/english/DuringAA.PNG" | ||
| alt="DuringAA.PNG" | ||
| title="DuringAA.PNG" | ||
| /> | ||
| <h2 class="bb_section"><a name="13"></a>FAQ:</h2> | ||
| <h4>Q: What's the difference between Steam Early Access and Advanced Access?</h4> | ||
| A: Advanced Access on Steam is commonly referred to as "early access" on other platforms, however, | ||
| Steam Early Access is a completely different thing. | ||
| <a href="https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/earlyaccess" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"> | ||
| Steam Early Access | ||
| </a> | ||
| enables you to sell your game on Steam while it is still being developed, and provides context to | ||
| customers that a product should be considered "unfinished." Early Access is a place for games that | ||
| are in a playable alpha or beta state, are worth the current value of the playable build, and that | ||
| you plan to continue to develop for release. | ||
| <h4>Q: Is Advanced Access right for my game?</h4> | ||
| A: Advanced Access may not be right for all games. For example, games where there’s a competitive | ||
| advantage to getting a head start could deeply impact user sentiment for the overall player base. | ||
| Additionally, a single player narrative game that could be completed in the duration of the Advanced | ||
| Access could potentially diminish the excitement around launch or could spoil the story before | ||
| others even have a chance to play. <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| Please reach out to the Steam team directly, either through your contact or | ||
| <a href="https://help.steampowered.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Steam Support</a>. They | ||
| will help determine if your game is a good fit for Advanced Access and if so, they will need to | ||
| manually add that date into Steamworks. | ||
| <h4>Q: Is Advanced Access available only for games in Pre-Purchase?</h4> | ||
| A: Yes, Advanced Access is a Pre-Purchase incentive, so can only be used during Pre-Purchase. | ||
| <h4>Q: Can my game use Advanced Access if it's the only Pre-Purchase incentive?</h4> | ||
| A: No, in order to use Advanced Access, the Pre-Purchase incentive must contain additional value | ||
| beyond just the Advanced Access time period. | ||
| <h4>Q: Can all editions of my game have Advanced Access?</h4> | ||
| A: No. You can't have all editions of your game grant advanced access because then you are | ||
| essentially just releasing your game early. You also can't just have one edition with advanced | ||
| access. In this case, we would recommend extending the other pre-purchase incentives to a later date | ||
| and changing your release date to the earlier date. | ||
| <h4>Q: Can I set up Advanced Access on my own?</h4> | ||
| A: No. You need to talk with a Steam representative to determine if Advanced Access is suitable for | ||
| your game. We need to enable Advanced Access manually. | ||
| <h4>Q: What if my release date changes?</h4> | ||
| A: We (Steam) will need to update the Advanced Access date on your behalf. If you change your | ||
| release date, then please contact us so we can adjust your Advanced Access date accordingly. The | ||
| best way is to | ||
| <a | ||
| href="https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing?issueid=902" | ||
| target="_blank" | ||
| rel="noreferrer" | ||
| >submit a ticket here</a | ||
| >. | ||
| <h4>Q: How does marketing work for Advanced Access?</h4> | ||
| A: You may be eligible for a "Now Available" marketing message when the entire game is released, but | ||
| we won't be creating a separate Marketing Message for the start of Advanced Access. If your game is | ||
| eligible for a marketing message, we will reach out to you to notify you and set that up. | ||
| <h4>Q: Can I change my capsule art to reflect Advanced Access?</h4> | ||
| A: No, you should not change your capsule art to include any banners indicating Advanced Access | ||
| status. Steam will appropriately inform our users of the status of advanced access during the period | ||
| and before the period. | ||
| <h4> | ||
| Q: Can I do a pre-purchase/Advanced Access for an game that's launching into | ||
| <a href="https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/earlyaccess" class="bb_doclink" | ||
| >Early Access</a | ||
| >? | ||
| </h4> | ||
| A: No. Advanced Access is only available for the full release of the game. | ||
| <h4> | ||
| Q: Will Steam grant advanced access to other content in the package such as pre-order bonus DLCs | ||
| and soundtracks? | ||
| </h4> | ||
| A: Steam will enable access to all of the content that is contained within that Advanced Access | ||
| package, so if it’s a soundtrack and bonus DLC, then yes, those would be included at that time as | ||
| well. You’ll still need to release all of the content as per the normal flow at the time of standard | ||
| edition release. | ||
| <h4> | ||
| Q: If we want to open a DLC’s store page at the time of advanced access, how will that work? | ||
| </h4> | ||
| A: The content (bits being delivered to the user’s client) will become playable if the DLC is in the | ||
| package that’s set for advanced access regardless of having a publicly visible store page. You will | ||
| still need to set the store page live. | ||
| <h4>Q: What happens with retail keys I've ordered for the Advanced Access Package?</h4> | ||
| A: If you have keys for the advanced access edition of the game, Valve will need to manually set | ||
| those keys as usable during that advanced access period. Make sure you inform your Steam contact | ||
| about these key packages.<br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> | ||
| <br /> |