Valve says its build review queue is "running a little behind" and has added new checklist rules to cut repeat reviews. Some games are reaching reviewers without ever being launched through Steam.
Valve told developers on its Steamworks news page that build reviews, which it aims to finish “typically within 3-5 days,” are now taking up to 12 business days. Valve blames re-reviews: “Much of that delay is due to having to re-review games, which isn’t great for you or for us.”
What changed
Per VGC and TechPowerUp, the pre-release checklist now requires:
- Five minutes of play through Steam. Developers must launch the game via the Steam client and run it for at least five minutes before submitting a build. TechPowerUp reports that anyone’s playtime counts, as long as it was logged in the past seven days or since the last build upload if that is older.
- Listed redistributables. Specify which common ones (DirectX, Visual C++, .NET, XNA) must be installed.
- Achievements ready. Valve added checks that flag incomplete setups such as missing names, icons or duplicate names.
- Steam Cloud test. For games that support it, a test save must be written correctly.
- Five gameplay screenshots. At least five supplied screenshots must be labeled as gameplay, and each can be tagged as gameplay, menus, concept art or cinematics.
Valve’s reason: “Believe it or not, sometimes we review builds that have not ever been played through Steam.” Even if a game runs fine when launched directly, “they might have missed basic steps that would impact a user installing and playing via Steam.”
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Why it matters to PC players
Indie developers have been posting about long waits, and delays can push release dates back. One developer said on X that their playtest took two weeks to approve. Valve says “more improvements are coming to the build review process.”
Valve did not say what caused the jump in submissions. TechPowerUp notes that store page and build submissions have risen in recent months. A community count by a Reddit user, previously covered by OnPoint, found about half of October’s Steam releases disclosed AI-generated content, though that is a community tally, not a Valve figure.
OnPoint’s take: Asking developers to launch their own game before shipping it to reviewers is a low bar, and the fact Valve had to write it down says a lot about how crowded the pipeline is. For PC players the practical result is simple: if you are waiting on an indie, a slipped date may be a queue problem, not the developer’s fault. Meanwhile, Xbox on PC is working to be a faster, cleaner place to launch your games, and that competition is good for everyone.
Image: Valve / Steamworks Development
Sources
- Valve / Steamworks Development: Updates to the Pre-Release Review Process
- VGC, “Steam says it’s ‘running behind’ when reviewing pre-release games…” (Nov 4, 2026)
- TechPowerUp, “Steam Wants Devs to Play Their Games For At Least 5 Minutes First” (Nov 5, 2026)
- Technology.org summary of Valve’s Steamworks post
