Steam build reviews now take up to 12 business days as Valve tightens its checklist

If you are planning to launch a game on Steam before the end of the year, Valve has a warning: give yourself more time. In a Steamworks Development post published on November 3, the company said its pre-release build reviews are currently taking up to 12 business days. Valve normally aims to test a build in three to five business days, but it said it is "running a little behind right now," after "a significant increase in submissions for store page and build review in recent months."

Valve's explanation puts much of the blame on repeat work. According to its announcement, a large share of the delay comes from games that fail review and have to be checked again, which Valve said "isn't great for you or for us." Its answer is a stricter release checklist designed, in its own words, to "help more developers pass build review the first time." For indie teams who plan marketing beats, streamer coverage and festival slots around a fixed launch date, that is not an abstract process change.

What the new checklist asks for

The headline requirement is simple and slightly startling: before submitting, a build must have been run through Steam for at least five minutes. "Believe it or not, sometimes we review builds that have not ever been played through Steam," Valve wrote, as quoted by Inven Global. A game that runs fine when its executable is launched directly can still break when a customer installs it through the client, for example because of wrong launch options or missing content. Playtime from any user counts, as long as it falls within the past seven days, or since the latest build upload if that upload is older than seven days. MIXED notes that Valve warns recorded playtime can take a few minutes to appear on the checklist after the game closes.

Several other checks are new or stricter:

• Redistributables. Developers must declare which common redistributables, such as DirectX or Visual C++, Steam should install, or confirm that none are needed.
• Steam Cloud. If a store page lists Steam Cloud support, a member of the developer's partner group must write a save file to the cloud before review. Steam will also flag cloud sync that is still in developer mode rather than available to players.
• Achievements. The checklist now flags incomplete achievement setups, such as missing names or icons.
• Screenshots. Store screenshots can now be categorized as gameplay, menus, concept art or cinematics, and at least five must be labeled as gameplay.

Valve's post adds that the submission screen will show dynamic reminders based on the features the store page promises, such as missing language support or special credentials reviewers need to test multiplayer. Inven reports that Valve says its reviewers check three things: whether the store page is clear and complete, whether the build matches what the page promises, and whether sensitive content, including mature content and AI usage, is disclosed in the content survey. Valve also says it will expand its documentation with a full release checklist guide and that more changes to build review are coming, without a timetable.

Real launches are already moving

The delay is not theoretical. MIXED reports that the developer of the psychological horror game No Visitors Allowed said its release build had been waiting for review since October 21. In a November 4 update, the developer moved the launch to November 20 to allow more time for approval, after an earlier shift from November 13 to November 16. MIXED adds that the developer says further changes could still be requested during review, so even the new date is a plan rather than a promise.

That example shows the arithmetic every small studio now has to do. Valve's own review documentation still asks developers to plan for at least seven business days for a build review. With a queue that can stretch to 12 business days, and with any failed review restarting part of the wait, a team that submits a week before launch is taking a real risk.

Why the queue is growing

Valve did not share submission numbers, and MIXED points out that the update does not attribute the backlog to any particular type of game. Much of the wider conversation has focused on a flood of cheaply made releases, including AI-assisted ones, but that link is speculation, not something Valve has said. Inven notes that the changes arrive a week after Valve staff answered developer questions about AI-generated and clone games at the Steam Indie Connect event in Korea on October 27, where they said Valve does not want to act as a gatekeeper over which tools developers use.

What Valve did make clear is that it wants to cut down on re-reviews for basic functional issues, such as builds that were never played through Steam or features that do not match what the store page promises. Those are exactly the problems the new checklist targets.

Our take

This is a sensible fix to a self-inflicted problem, and indie developers should treat it as a hard deadline rather than a suggestion. The five-minute rule sounds almost comically low, but the fact that Valve needs it tells you how many builds were arriving untested in the actual client. The real story is the timeline: if you are aiming for a November or December launch, submit as early as you can, run your game through Steam on a clean machine, test cloud saves and achievements, and label your screenshots before you hit submit. Players should expect a few more small games to slip by a week or two. What to watch next is whether Valve adds reviewers or tools to bring the queue back toward three to five days, or whether 12 days becomes the new normal during the busy season.

Sources