Steam is facing a growing backlog of game submissions, forcing developers to postpone releases, with some believing AI-generated titles are contributing to the delays.
On November 3, Valve acknowledged that it had seen a “significant increase in submissions for store page and build review in recent months”. The company usually targets a three to five business day review window.
The company shared that it may now take more than twice as long, with around 12 business days required to get around to reviewing submitted games.
Several independent studios have been affected
Delays have already affected several independent studios, including developer Rami Ismail, whose upcoming game, Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defense Business, was originally scheduled to launch on November 10.
Its assessment returned a minor controller input issue, which was resolved the same day, but the game remained in the review queue, eventually receiving approval on November 14.
Some believe that AI-generated games may be the cause of the delays. As per MakeTechEasier, Alfred Kamon, game director of Studio Daimon, whose game Food Devils missed its planned early access launch, said: “We can only assume it’s because Steam’s review queue is clogged up by AI slop.”
Valve believe the increased volume of submissions and the number of games requiring repeat reviews is at fault for the delay, not AI-generated titles.In response, Valve has introduced changes to its pre-release checklist, including requiring developers to launch their games through Steam and play them for at least five minutes before submitting a build for approval.
Other requirements include checking achievement configurations, ensuring necessary software such as DirectX and Visual C++ is installed, and confirming that Steam Cloud saves work correctly where applicable.
Valve says further improvements to its review process are in development, but has not provided a timeframe for when approval times will return to normal.