Valve tightens Steam release rules as reviews pile up
Valve has changed its Steam release checklist to clear a review backlog, as a wave of new games, many made with AI, slows approvals, according to Engadget.
The facts
- Valve aims to review new titles in three to five days, but reviews are currently taking up to 12 business days, according to Engadget.
- Developers must now run their game through Steam for at least five minutes, confirm common redistributables such as DirectX and Visual C++, check achievements and Steam Cloud save paths, and categorise screenshots.
- A Reddit user, u/ploz, found that 49.9 percent of games released on Steam in October disclosed AI-generated content, per Engadget. In June, nearly 20 percent of Next Fest demos did so.
- Valve did not name AI as the cause. Engadget says the slowdown has made indie games miss launch dates, in some cases by weeks.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
A platform that lets anyone ship fast will eventually drown in what ships. Cheap AI tools lower the cost of making a game. They do not lower the cost of checking one. That cost lands on the reviewers, and then on the small developers waiting in the queue. Valve's fix is a checklist, not a cap, and that is the point to watch.
For builders
If you ship on Steam, run your build through the client before you submit and tick every item on the new list. A failed check now costs you weeks, not days. Plan launch dates with the 12-business-day wait in mind, not the three to five Valve is aiming for.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from Engadget's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.