Steam has apparently been struggling to keep up with new game submissions. Developers have been forced to wait longer to get their games approved, which has caused Valve to step in to fix things. The company is putting stricter release requirements in place, including one which is absolutely hilarious. Valve needs developers to play their games through Steam before submitting them for review.
In an official Steamworks announcement, Valve acknowledged that a significant increase in game and store page submissions has overwhelmed its review process. The company typically aims to complete game build reviews within three to five days. However, some are now taking up to 12 business days, with repeated reviews contributing heavily to the backlog.
Valve wants developers to play their own games first
Among the new requirements is a mandatory five-minute playtest through Steam. Valve says it has encountered submissions that developers apparently never launched through the platform, which leaves critical installation and configuration issues undiscovered.
Developers must now launch their games through Steam and record at least five minutes of playtime before requesting approval. This playtime must be recent, either within the past seven days or since the last uploaded build if it’s older. Valve is also introducing additional checks for missing achievement icons, incorrectly configured Steam Cloud saves, and essential components such as DirectX and Visual C++.
It is also working on Store pages as well. Developers can now include menu screenshots, concept art, and cinematics, provided they’re correctly labeled. However, at least five screenshots must still show actual gameplay. So studios can catch avoidable mistakes before games enter the review queue, which opens up more space in line and also helps streamline the process.
Is Steam’s growing AI problem making things worse?
The change also arrives during the explosion of AI-assisted game development, something Epic Games has been pushing. According to an independent analysis shared on Reddit, 49.9% of games released on Steam in October 2026 disclosed some use of AI-generated content. This figure was just 1.7% in January 2024. The researcher examined approximately 63,600 Steam releases since Valve introduced AI disclosures, but the findings rely on developers accurately reporting their AI usage.
Meanwhile, The Verge reports that smaller developers are already missing release dates because of lengthy approvals. Studio Daimon’s Food Devils missed its planned early access launch, while publisher 2 Left Thumbs reported a nearly two-week delay for Wheel Make It.
Some developers suspect that the influx of low-effort, AI-generated games is contributing to the problem. Valve, however, hasn’t directly attributed the backlog to AI, instead pointing to increased submissions and repeated reviews.
