Valve is making changes to deal with a ‘significant increase’ in Steam game submissions
Valve is overhauling its Steam game submission process due to a significant surge in submissions, causing review delays of up to 12 business days. The company aims to streamline reviews, but indie developers face postponed releases. Valve admits it's 'running behind' on approvals, sparking concerns about AI-generated game quality and discovery.
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- ✓ Valve has seen a significant increase in Steam game submissions, causing review delays of up to 12 business days.
- ✓ The typical review time for a Steam game build is 3-5 days, but Valve has been experiencing delays.
- ✓ Indie developers are postponing releases due to lengthy Steam game reviews.
- ✓ Valve admits it's 'running behind' on approving Steam games.
What changed
Valve updated its pre-release review process to address the surge in game submissions and reduce review times.
Live updates
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Valve tackles Steam game submission backlog
Valve is overhauling its Steam game submission process due to a significant surge in submissions, causing review delays of up to 12 business days. The company aims to streamline reviews, but indie developers face postponed releases. Valve admits it's 'running behind' on approvals, sparking concerns about AI-generated game quality and discovery.
Why it matters
The Steam platform has seen a substantial increase in game submissions, straining Valve's review process. This delay affects indie developers' release schedules and raises questions about game quality and AI's role in submissions. The issue has sparked debate over disclosure and game discovery on Steam.
What is confirmed
- Valve has seen a significant increase in Steam game submissions, causing review delays of up to 12 business days.
- The typical review time for a Steam game build is 3-5 days, but Valve has been experiencing delays.
- Indie developers are postponing releases due to lengthy Steam game reviews.
- Valve admits it's 'running behind' on approving Steam games.
Still unconfirmed
- The delays are partly attributed to the rise of generative AI and 'AI slop' flooding the platform.
What to watch next
- Valve's updated review process effectiveness
- Impact on indie developers' release schedules
- Evolution of AI-generated game submissions and quality
confidence 90%Sources used for this update (12)
- The Verge — Valve is making changes to deal with a ‘significant increase’ in Steam game submissions
- PC Gamer — Valve admits it's 'running behind' on approving Steam games because it has to keep re-reviewing them, which surely has nothing to do with AI
- gamedev.net — Updates to the Pre-Release Review Process
- ixbt.games — “Tim Sweeney liked this”: Publisher criticized Valve for botched launch — his game has 15 concurrent players with 11,000 wishlists
- ua.news — Indie developers postpone releases due to lengthy Steam game reviews — The Verge
- Steam Community — Steam :: Steamworks Development :: Updates to the Pre-Release Review Process
- The Verge — Indie games are missing launch dates because Steam is backed up
- www.ign.com — Valve Admits It's Running 'A Little Behind' on Steam Pre ...
- www.theverge.com — Valve is making changes to deal with a ‘significant increase ...
- www.gamenguide.com — Valve Reports Significant Increase in Steam Game Submissions ...
- automaton-media.com — Valve updates conditions for submitting game builds on Steam ...
- www.gamesradar.com — Valve cracks down on Steam game submission process as ...
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