Valve is experiencing delays in approving new games for its Steam platform, a situation attributed to an increase in re-reviews needed for submitted titles. This backlog has led to several indie developers publicly sharing that their games are missing scheduled release dates due to extended waits for approval, with some applications taking up to 20 days to be processed, significantly longer than Valve's standard three-to-five business day window.
Developers of games like Food Devils, Wheel Make It, and Cubic Earth have reported being in limbo. For instance, structmira, the developer behind Cubic Earth, stated that the lack of communication from Valve has forced them to wait, causing a loss of momentum and community frustration, especially after their game garnered substantial wishlists and trailer views. "Our Steam Community page is rapidly filling with player complaints, and we've lost all momentum," they told PC Gamer.
In response to the growing concerns, Valve released a Steamworks update outlining new guidelines intended to help developers pass the preview process more efficiently. The company acknowledged that wait times are currently extended, potentially doubling the usual duration, with some reviews taking up to 12 business days. Valve stated, "Much of that delay is due to having to re-review games, which isn't great for you or for us."
The update introduces a series of checklists that place more responsibility on developers to ensure their submissions are complete and functional. A key new requirement mandates that developers must run their game through Steam for at least five minutes to confirm basic functionality within the platform's ecosystem. Valve noted that some submitted builds have not been played through Steam at all, leading to missed issues that would affect users installing and playing the game via the platform.
Additional checks include confirming necessary common redistributables, ensuring cloud saves and achievements are correctly implemented, and providing a minimum of five gameplay screenshots for the store page. While Valve did not explicitly link the delays to the recent surge in AI-generated games, the company has previously acknowledged a problem with "slop" and cloned content on Steam. This push for more rigorous developer submissions may be an attempt to filter out lower-quality titles emerging from new AI development tools, a concern echoed by platforms like Itch.io, which recently removed a significant volume of AI-generated content.
Valve indicated that further changes to the build review process are planned, but described the current update as a "great starting point."