Indie horror game Amygdala: Prelude is, according to its developer, about 80 percent of the way done and ready for early access. Its developers have set up a Steam store page and are ready and eager to push it live. There’s just one problem: their game has yet to be approved by Valve, and it’s allegedly been waiting for that approval for three whole years.
This comes from a post on r/gamedev (via Automaton) from the developer of Amygdala: Prelude. In it, they say they reached out to Steam support way, way back in 2023 when they first started making the game, and was told by the team that, because it’s being made in Valve’s own Source engine, the dev needed a commercial agreement in order to sell it. Since then, the developer has been working to get that agreement put together, with Valve asking them to send the information required to make it happen.
However, they say, communication with Valve has been so slow and choppy that three years later, they have made no progress on said agreement. The dev claims that at times, they have waited between six and 12 months for a reply from Steam support to something they sent. They add that they have noticed a pattern: Steam Support will ask for some details, the dev will provide those details, and then be met with months of silence before being told they’ve fallen behind and have to provide the same information again. “We’ve been stuck on this loop for the last few years and aren’t making any progress,” they say. “My direct emails to Valve have been met with silence as well. I just put my time, money, love and hours into a game over 3 years while following the instructions provided, and now we’re getting nowhere and stuck waiting to release.”
In the replies, some are suggesting that this is an unfortunate side effect of both the use of Source, as well as Valve’s notoriety for being slow to respond, with Amygdala: Prelude simply falling through the cracks. Others are pointing out that this seems to be a common problem for developers who want to use Source, and saying that it was a risky move to develop using Source prior to having an agreement with Valve signed. Even so, three years of limbo is rough, and the dev seems to be feeling the strain:
It’s painful watching everyone else ship their games every day whilst ours is stuck accumulating wishlists indefinitely but no one is able to buy. I’m keen to start recouping my development costs, and it’s been really hard on me and the team. Most of the other devs on the team have grown exhausted as we’re beyond our original (and extended) shipping date for early access waiting for Valve, and we’re yet to be allowed to receive a cent for our game. We’re all worried that we might never be allowed to ship it as this exact same process has apparently been happening to a lot of other games.
It’s a shame, too, because Amygdala: Prelude doesn’t look half bad. It’s not exactly my genre cup of tea, but I like the freaky look of the monsters and the screenshots show some locations with cool lighting that look pretty distinctive. Kotaku has reached out to Valve for comment on this, but best of luck to the Amygdala team in salvaging three years worth of work. Because Valve does allow non-commercial uses of Source with no agreement in place, there is at least a free demo available on Steam for those who want to check it out.