The release timeline
A running timeline of every game Crit Pick covers, sorted by release date, newest first. Each game shows up once, in whichever state it's in right now: Fully released if it's out and finished, Early access if it's playable but not yet at its 1.0, or Upcoming with a live countdown if it hasn't launched. An Early Access game shows its early-access date right up until it ships 1.0 — then the same entry flips to its full-release date, so no game ever appears twice. The list builds itself: every game we cover with a release date lands here automatically, so nothing goes stale between visits, and each entry links straight to the coverage.
Every release, sorted by date
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How the timeline works
The three states
Every game sits in one of three states, and it shows up here once, in whichever state it's in today. Fully released is a game that's out and complete — the version the studio calls done. Early access is a game you can already play but that hasn't reached its full 1.0 yet; it carries its early-access date, and the timeline shows how long it has been in Early Access so far. Upcoming is a game that isn't out at all, shown with a countdown. A game in Early Access keeps its early-access date right up until it ships its 1.0 — and then the same entry flips to Fully released and shows the full-release date instead. It never appears twice.
How the list stays current
Nothing on this page is typed by hand. It reads the Crit Pick feed and pulls in every post or page carrying the game tag, then reads each one's release date and sorts by it. Tag a new game and it appears here on the next load — no edit to this page needed. That's the whole trick: the timeline is a view of the games' own release dates, not a list someone has to remember to update. When a game leaves Early Access, its entry moves itself from Early access to Fully released; there's nothing to switch by hand.
Where the dates come from
Each game's release date lives in its own page as structured data — a schema.org VideoGame block with a datePublished, which is also the date search engines and AI read as the release date. A game with an early-access history adds a small companion block alongside it holding its earlyAccess and fullRelease dates, and the timeline reads whichever one matches the game's current state. A future date, or the upcoming tag, sends a game to the Upcoming filter with a live countdown. The countdown runs to a release time, not just a date: if the studio has named an hour, that hour is used; if it has only named a day, the timeline assumes 5pm Central European Time and labels it as an estimate. No date set yet? The game still shows, parked under "Date TBA."
Counting down, searching and saving a date
The next game out sits at the top of the timeline with a live countdown that ticks down to the day it lands, followed by the two releases queued behind it. Below that, the filters split the list into Upcoming, Early access and Fully released, and the search box narrows whichever filter you're in to the games whose names match what you type. Your filter and your search both live in the page's address, so the view you're looking at is the view you can send to someone else. And any dated upcoming game can go straight into your own calendar: + Calendar hands you a standard .ics file — an all-day event on release day with a reminder the day before — that Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook all open without any account or sign-in.
Timeline questions, answered
What's the difference between "Early access" and "Fully released"?
Fully released is a game that's out and finished — at its full 1.0. Early access is a game you can already play but that hasn't reached its 1.0 yet. They're states, not separate events: a game in Early Access shows its early-access date, and the day it ships 1.0 that same entry becomes Fully released and shows the full-release date. A game never shows up as both.
How is the timeline ordered?
Newest first, grouped by year. Within each year the most recent date sits at the top. The sort uses each game's release date — its full-release date once it's out, or its early-access date while it's still in Early Access — so the page reads top-down from the latest launch. Upcoming works the other way round: soonest first, because that's the one you're waiting for. Anything with a date that hasn't launched sits in its own Upcoming section above the years, folded shut, and games without a date stay in their own TBA section — so the page opens on what's already out.
Why does a game show a score, and others don't?
Because we've reviewed it. The number is read live from the review's own rating, the same one search engines and AI see — nothing on this page is typed in by hand, so a score can't drift out of sync with the review it came from. A game we haven't reviewed simply shows no score, and an upcoming game never gets one from us: a game we can't finish yet can't have a verdict, even if we've played a demo. What an unreleased game can show is a dashed Demo only chip, when a free demo or prologue is already out on Steam. That percentage is the share of positive Steam user reviews for the demo, read from the game's own page: players' reception of a slice, not our score, and not a sign the full game is out. Reviews of mods count for the mod, not for the game they run on.
Does it update on its own?
Yes. The list reads the Crit Pick feed live and shows every game we cover that has a release date. Publish a new game page with a date and it shows up here on the next load — there's no separate list to maintain. And when a game leaves Early Access, its entry flips to Fully released on its own.
Can I add a release to my calendar?
Yes. Every dated upcoming game has a + Calendar button that downloads a standard .ics file: an all-day event on release day, with a reminder the day before and a link back to our coverage. Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook all open it directly, and nothing is sent to us — the file is built in your browser, so there's no sign-up and no email to hand over.
Can I share a filtered view of the timeline?
Yes. The filter you pick and anything you type into the search box are both written into the page's address as you go, so copying the URL copies the exact view you're looking at. Send someone /game-releases/?view=upcoming and they land on the upcoming list, countdown and all.
Why is a game missing from the timeline?
Almost always because it has no release date set yet. Only games carrying the "game" tag with a release date appear here. A game without a date stays visible on all games but sits out of the timeline until a date is added — so the fix is to set the date on the game's page, not to edit this page.
How do upcoming games get a release date?
Add the date to the game's page as a schema.org VideoGame block with a datePublished, like "2026-11-14," and tag the page "upcoming." That same date is what search engines and AI read as the game's release date, and the Upcoming filter uses it to sort, count down and build the calendar file. If the date isn't known yet, the game still appears under "Date TBA" until you set one.
What date does each entry show?
Whichever date matches the game's current state: its full-release date once it's out, or its early-access date while it's still in Early Access. Upcoming games show their announced date with a countdown, or "Date TBA" if none is set yet. Each date is formatted in your local style.
Where's the full list of games, not just releases?
This timeline only shows games that have a release date, organised by that date. For a plain directory of every game Crit Pick covers — review hubs, game pages and upcoming alike — see all games, which you can sort A–Z or by release date and search by name.
Spotted a game we missed or a wrong date? The fix is usually the release date on the game's own page. This timeline is built from Crit Pick's own coverage and reads it live — all game names, logos and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.