Valve is introducing new Steam release requirements to manage a surge in game submissions that has pushed review wait times to 12 business days.
Indie Launch Schedules Face Delays
Review wait times have reached 12 business days, up from the typical window of three to five business days. These delays have forced some indie developers to miss planned launch dates.
Several developers, including the teams behind Food Devils, Wheel Make It, and Cubic Earth, have expressed frustration over the status of their finished titles. The developer structmira reported being unable to contact Valve regarding Cubic Earth and having no choice but to wait.
Valve Implements New Developer Checklists
To reduce the need for re-reviews, Valve has introduced mandatory checks for developers:
- Confirming that achievements are set up properly and are fully functional.
- Testing Steam Cloud Saving if it is a feature set up for the game.
- Providing at least five screenshots for the store page. These screenshots can include different types such as concept art, menus, cinematics, and gameplay. The categories will appear as labels on the images, though developers are still prohibited from putting marketing phrases or other writing on them. At least five must be categorized specifically as gameplay.
AI Content Drives Submission Volume
Techraptor reported that the industry has seen a massive influx of games created using generative AI, a trend that has led to an explosion of low-quality content on various storefronts. While Valve did not officially attribute the backlog to specific technology, the volume of submissions has increased.
Different sites are taking different approaches to this influx of AI content. Tim Sweeney from Epic Games has supported it, while Nexus Mods and Itch.io have implemented requirements for extensive disclosure. In response to similar trends, the platform Itch.io announced the deletion of a couple terabytes of what they termed “AI slop” to combat the wave of low-quality games appearing online, Techraptor reported.
Steam Submission Process FAQ
What is the current wait time for a Steam game review?
Review times are currently taking up to 12 business days. This is an increase from the typical window of three to five business days.
Why are reviews taking longer than usual?
The company stated that the delay is due to a significant increase in submissions and the necessity of re-reviewing games that fail to meet basic functional standards the first time.
What must developers do to ensure their games work on Steam?
Developers are now required to run their builds through the Steam platform for at least five minutes and ensure all necessary common redistributables and achievements are ready prior to submission.