Steam games are taking over two weeks to review. Developers blame an influx of AI projects

The game review queue on Steam has more than doubled, forcing indie developers to push back releases. Some attribute the delays to an influx of AI-generated projects.

On November 3, Valve acknowledged that over recent months, the number of submissions for reviewing store pages and game builds has “increased significantly.” The company typically aims for a turnaround of 3–5 business days, but the wait can now exceed two weeks.

The issue has impacted several independent developers. In particular, Rami Ismail had to delay the release of Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defense Business, which was originally scheduled for November 10. The review uncovered a minor controls issue that was resolved on the same day. However, the game remained in the queue and only received approval on November 14.

Some developers believe the delays are caused by an influx of AI-generated games. As reported by MakeTechEasier, Alfred Kamon, game director at Studio Daimon, whose project Food Devils missed its planned Early Access launch, stated:

Valve itself attributes the situation to an increase in the overall number of submissions and game resubmissions, rather than to AI-generated projects.

In response, the company updated the list of requirements before submitting a build for review. Developers must now launch their games through Steam and spend at least five minutes in them. They are also required to verify achievement settings, check for necessary prerequisite software including DirectX and Visual C++, and, if Steam Cloud is supported, ensure that cloud saves work correctly.

Valve is preparing additional improvements to the review process. No timeframe has been given for returning to the previous pace.