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It looks like Valve has been quietly testing a 'Playtest' feature on Steam that would make life much easier for players and developers.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

July 27, 2020

1 Min Read

It looks like Valve has been quietly testing a 'Playtest' feature on Steam that would make life much easier for players and developers. 

As highlighted by SteamDB creator xPaw on Twitter, Valve seems to be trialing a Playtest button that lets Steam users request access for upcoming playtests. 

As it stands, Steam developers who want to let people try their projects ahead of release must hand out Beta keys. That hardly sounds like the end of the world, but the introduction of a dedicated Playtest button that devs can slap on their Steam page would massively streamline the process. 

Right now, Total War: Elysium appears to be the only title on Steam that has implemented the feature (though there could be others that have evaded detection), which you can see in action right here.

About the Author(s)

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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