Steam Review Backlogs
Many indie game developers have recently posted on social media about unexpectedly long approval wait times for their game submissions on Steam, with some of the approvals causing developers to miss their planned launch dates.
Indie games are missing launch dates because Steam is backed up
One developer has been waiting for weeks on approval for a game it planned to release today.
A screenshot from Food Devils
, which is missing its planned launch today.
Developer Impact
For example, Studio Daimon, the team behind an upcoming title called Food Devils, had planned to launch the game in early access today after submitting its build on October 12th. But the game is still awaiting approval, according to a post from game director Alfred Kamon. Even now, they do not know when Steam will give final clearance to release the game, having sent support tickets warning of missed launch windows without receiving timely responses.
In October, publisher 2 Left Thumbs reported missing its planned launch of Wheel Make It by nearly two weeks due to extended wait times for build reviews. Studios have faced various setbacks during the review process, contributing to widespread discussion among developers regarding the delays.
Valve Guidelines
Valve states on its developer documentation that store presence reviews typically take three to five business days to complete, though the company recommends submitting pages at least seven business days in advance to account for potential adjustments.
Rising Submissions
Platform volume has increased significantly, evidenced by October’s Steam Next Fest hosting 7,240 games—representing a 65.2 percent increase over the June event. Additionally, a substantial portion of releases incorporates AI disclosure labels introduced by Valve in 2024.
Developers have expressed concern that the review queue is becoming congested with lower-quality automated submissions, resulting in multi-week processing times for some creators.
Valve Response
Valve acknowledged that following a significant increase in store and page review submissions in recent months, operations are running behind schedule with wait times reaching up to 12 business days, driven largely by repeated reviews of games. The company updated its release checklist to require a minimum of five minutes of runtime testing through Steam and indicated that further improvements to the build review process are forthcoming.
Other platforms have experienced similar volume increases, with Itch.io reporting a doubling of daily page creation rates alongside ongoing moderation efforts.
Valve provided updated statements regarding the review delays following initial reports.
