GamingNov 4, 2026, 11:30 PM UTC·2 min read

Valve Extends Steam Game Review Times to Up to 12 Days

Valve has confirmed that Steam game approvals can now take up to 12 days, as a surge of submissions, many AI-assisted, strains the review process for indie developers.

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Valve has confirmed that it lengthened the time it takes to review games for Steam, with checks now taking up to 12 days. The company cited a sharp rise in store page and build submissions over recent months.

Indie developers have complained on social media that approvals take far longer than before. Valve usually responds within three to five days of submission, then may contact the developer about problems, which requires several more days of checking. Once the issues are resolved, the game goes live. The company advises developers to submit their page at least seven working days before the planned release. Teams behind Ashen Legacy, Caravan Carnage: Fruity Road, Lacey's Flash Games and Wheel Make It reported waits of at least two weeks.

A studio that missed its date

Alfred Camon, head of Studio Daimon, said Food Devils was due on 3 November but did not launch, even though the team submitted it for review on 12 October. He contacted Steam support on 24 October and received a reply two days later raising concerns about sexual content. He answered immediately, yet after seven more days he was still waiting. In the past, he said, such issues were settled in two to three days.

Studio Daimon is a nine-person Italian team that has worked on Food Devils for four years. Camon said the company needs the sales revenue before the end of the year, and Steam pays out with a one-month delay.

AI games behind the surge

Developers link the slowdown to the growing number of AI-made projects. From January to mid-October 2026, more games were released on Steam than in all of 2025. In October alone, about 4,000 games appeared, and nearly half of them disclose using AI in development. Late last month, Valve said it did not want to dictate which tools developers use and had assigned a "significant number of people" to deal with low-quality AI games.

Valve urges developers to launch their game through Steam for at least five minutes and verify that all required components, achievements, cloud saves and features advertised on the store page work correctly. The company also said it is adjusting internal processes to cope with the higher workload.

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Tags:valvesteamindie gamesai gamesgame review