On the Steam store, there are some games/software that can be pre-purchased/ordered, purchased as a timed license/one-time license (which most games/programs use; basically binds to one Steam account, only that account can use purchased license).
Can pre-ordered products bought as a gift item that goes into your Steam inventory for later binding or trade? It said:
One or more of the products in the transaction have not been released and are not currently avaliable.
These products will automatically be made available to you or your gift recipient via Steam upon their release. Release dates for products are subject to change.
Also, by 'later', I meant sometime before it is released.
According to the game's forum, the developer said:
We intended to make it an Early Access, but unfortunately this status is not available for Software on Steam, only for Games. We discussed this with the Steam Developers Support and the only option to have an Early Access was to make a Pre-Order with Beta access.
(Quote: http://steamcommunity.com/app/274920/discussions/0/613935404245919010/ - First comment, first page)