Valve has acknowledged that Steam’s game approval process is taking significantly longer than usual, with some developers now facing review times of up to 12 business days instead of the typical three to five.
The company says a massive increase in game submissions, combined with repeated reviews of builds that fail basic checks, has created a backlog. To address the issue, Valve is introducing new requirements to its Steamworks release checklist, including mandatory testing through Steam before submitting a game for approval.
The delays have already affected several indie developers, forcing some to postpone their planned releases. Some developers have also blamed the growing number of low-effort and AI-generated games appearing on Steam for making the situation worse.
In Brief:
- Valve confirms that game build reviews are taking up to 12 business days, compared to the usual three to five.
- A surge in game and store page submissions, along with repeated reviews, is slowing down the approval process.
- Developers must test their games through Steam for at least five minutes and complete additional technical checks before submitting builds.
- Several studios have reported missed release dates, with some blaming the growing number of low-effort and AI-generated games.
Steam Game Reviews Are Now Taking Up to 12 Business Days
In a November 3, 2026, announcement titled Updates to the Pre-Release Review Process, Valve confirmed that its game review process has been experiencing significant delays.
Under normal circumstances, Steam aims to review submitted game builds within three to five business days. However, the company says the current backlog has pushed some reviews to as long as 12 business days.
Valve explained that it has seen a significant increase in submissions for both Steam store pages and game builds over the past several months.
The company has been working to scale its review process to handle the increased workload, but the situation has yet to return to normal.
Interestingly, Valve says much of the delay comes from having to review the same games multiple times.
When submitted builds fail their initial checks, developers must fix the problems and send them back for another review. These additional reviews consume resources that could otherwise be used to approve new submissions.
To reduce these delays, Valve is making changes to how developers prepare their games for approval.
Valve Says Some Developers Have Never Tested Their Games Through Steam
One of the more surprising revelations from Valve’s announcement is that some developers submit game builds without ever testing them through the Steam client.
According to Valve, developers sometimes test their games by launching the executable directly, rather than using Steam itself.
While a game might work perfectly when launched this way, it can still encounter problems when players attempt to install and run it through Steam.
These issues can include incorrect launch options, missing game files, improperly configured content depots, and other basic functionality problems.
As a result, Valve is introducing a new requirement that developers must launch their games through Steam and run them for at least five minutes before requesting a build review.
The playtime must be recorded within the previous seven days or since the most recent build upload if that upload is older than seven days.
This should help developers identify basic launch problems before submitting their games and reduce the number of builds that need additional reviews.
Steam Introduces New Game Approval Checklist Requirements
Alongside mandatory gameplay testing, Valve has introduced several additional checks designed to make the approval process smoother.
The updated Steamworks release checklist includes the following requirements:
- Five-minute Steam test: Developers must launch and run their games through Steam for at least five minutes before submitting them for review.
- Required redistributables: Developers must confirm whether their games require software such as DirectX, Visual C++, .NET, or XNA.
- Steam Achievements: Games featuring achievements must have their achievement configurations properly set up, including names and icons.
- Steam Cloud support: Games advertising Steam Cloud functionality must demonstrate that cloud saving works correctly.
- Gameplay screenshots: Steam store pages must include at least five screenshots categorized as gameplay.
- Store page accuracy: Developers must ensure that all features advertised on their store pages are actually available in the submitted builds.
- Language support: All promised languages must be present and functional.
- Review accessibility: Developers must ensure that Valve’s review team can access all game content, including multiplayer functionality where applicable.
The updated checklist also asks developers to confirm that they have tested their games on a different PC from their development system.
Valve hopes these changes will help developers catch common issues before submitting their builds, allowing more games to pass the review process on their first attempt.
The company also confirmed that additional improvements to Steam’s review system are in development.
Indie Developer Says Steam Review Delays Forced Him to Postpone His Game
The Steam approval backlog has already caused problems for indie developers, including solo developer Supantha Paul, the creator of Abashed.
The psychological adventure game was originally scheduled to release on November 4, 2026.
However, Paul announced that the launch had to be delayed because the game was still awaiting Steam’s approval.
In a lengthy statement shared on X, Paul explained that his game had been sitting in Steam’s review queue for approximately two weeks without any feedback.
The developer described the situation as heartbreaking, especially after spending years working on the game.
He also criticized the lack of communication, saying he had received no notification explaining why the approval process was taking longer than expected.
Paul expressed frustration that Valve’s public update focused heavily on games requiring additional reviews, while his own submission had received no feedback or rejection.
The developer also suggested that the growing number of low-effort and AI-generated games on Steam was contributing to the backlog.
However, Valve has not confirmed that AI-generated games are directly responsible for the current approval delays.
Fortunately, Abashed eventually received approval and officially launched on Steam on November 5, one day after its originally planned release.
While the delay was relatively short in the end, the experience highlights how unpredictable approval times can disrupt an indie developer’s carefully planned launch.
Are AI-Generated Games Causing Steam’s Review Backlog?
The surge in AI-generated and low-effort games on Steam has become a growing concern among independent developers.
With generative AI tools making it easier to create game assets, code, and other content, developers have raised concerns about the increasing number of games being submitted to digital storefronts.
Some believe that the flood of low-quality submissions is overwhelming Steam’s review process, leaving developers of more polished projects waiting longer for approval.
Paul is not the only developer to raise concerns about the situation.
Publisher 2 Left Thumbs also criticized Steam’s review backlog after Wheel Make It experienced launch delays. The publisher argued that an influx of low-effort AI-generated games had contributed to the problem and affected its game’s launch visibility.
Other indie projects, including Food Devils, have also reported difficulties getting their builds approved before their scheduled release dates.
However, it is important to clarify that Valve has not officially identified AI-generated games as the cause of the backlog.
Instead, the company attributes much of the slowdown to increased submissions and games repeatedly failing their initial review checks.
