Multiple indie game developers have reported experiencing unexpected delays in receiving approval for their game submissions on Steam, with some missing their planned release windows as a result. Studio Daimon, developer of Food Devils, submitted a build on October 12th for an early access launch scheduled for today but has not yet received approval from Steam. Game director Alfred Kamon stated that despite submitting a support ticket flagged as urgent, the studio remains without a clear timeline for launch.
Publisher 2 Left Thumbs similarly reported missing its planned release date for Wheel Make It by nearly two weeks due to extended review times. The studio encountered additional complications when one submission failed review due to a single menu option not being accessible with a controller, requiring further iterations.
Steam’s official developer documentation indicates that store presence reviews typically require 3-5 business days and recommends submitting pages at least 7 business days before the intended launch date. However, recent submissions appear to be experiencing significantly longer processing times. In October, Steam Next Fest featured 7,240 games, representing a 65.2 percent increase compared to the event held in June. Additionally, approximately 49.9 percent of games released since 2024, when Valve began requiring AI disclosure labels, now carry AI designations.
Developer representatives suspect that the increased volume may be contributing to backlogs, with some attributing delays to an influx of AI-generated content flooding the review queue. Valve has not provided comment on the matter. Similar pressures have affected other distribution platforms, with Itch.io reporting that daily game page creation has doubled over the past two months and noting recent removal of large quantities of AI-generated content from its systems.
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