Steam is introducing a new feature called Playtest. Steam already has the Early access feature which gives users access to test the game before it is released. But in order to play them, you will be needing a Key or mailing list. The new Playtest feature will reduce the effort for developers of providing the key or mailing list.
Features:
This new feature will require a sign-up form to enroll in the program. Steam will do all the remaining management. Steam provides documentation with all the steps to follow to enter the new feature. Developers will be able to see how many have access to the Test. They even can see how many have been manually added and even how many are waiting for access. Here is how the button looks in the steam. This is Total War: Elysium other games with this feature are Prodeus and Iron Conflict.
Developers will also be able to manually add users to test the new feature. Once the Test completes the button will be removed from the steam page. The game will be then pulled from the user’s library. Playtest users will not be able to review the game and downloading will not affect the wishlist. Valve mentions that this feature is will not replace Steam Early Access. Some games can even have both the Early access and Playtest feature too. The playtest feature will also have no support for commerce or monetization.
The feature is now in beta and the tools can have a change but users can still have access to that feature.
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