Indie games missing launch dates as Steam review queue grows
Independent developers say delays in Steam’s review process have pushed planned releases back, including Food Devils and Wheel Make It. Valve acknowledged a sharp increase in submissions and said reviews are taking up to 12 business days. The company has changed its release checklist and says further improvements to build reviews are coming.
Valve says Steam reviews are taking up to 12 business days after indie games missing launch dates prompted developers to describe weeks-long delays. The company acknowledged a significant increase in submissions for store and page reviews in recent months and said it is running behind.
The backlog has already disrupted release plans. Studio Daimon expected to launch Food Devils in early access on November 4, but the game was still awaiting approval after the team submitted its build on October 12.
For small studios, a missed date can unsettle a carefully planned release. Developers say they have been left waiting without knowing when Steam will approve their games.
Why are indie games missing launch dates?
Steam’s review queue has grown as submissions increased, according to Valve. The company said some of the delay comes from having to review games again.
Game director Alfred Kamon said Studio Daimon had sent another support ticket the previous week to flag the urgency, but had received no response. “Even now, we don’t know when Steam will give us the final OK to finally release our game,” he wrote.
Kamon and publisher 2 Left Thumbs suspect a flood of low-quality AI-generated games may be contributing to the delays. Kamon said: “We can only assume it’s because Steam’s review queue is clogged up by AI slop, but the whole process is now taking several weeks for some developers.” That is their explanation, not a cause Valve has confirmed.
What has Valve changed?
Valve’s standard guidance says a review of a game’s store presence typically takes 3-5 business days. It advises developers to submit a page at least 7 business days before they want it to go live, allowing time for changes.
The company’s newer update gives a different picture of current waits: reviews are now taking up to 12 business days. Valve has also updated its release checklist, requiring developers to run a game through Steam for at least five minutes. It says further improvements to the build review process are on the way.
The delay has affected more than one release. In October, publisher 2 Left Thumbs said it missed its planned launch of Wheel Make It by nearly two weeks because of long build-review waits. The publisher also described failing a review over a single menu option that could not be accessed with a controller.
The scale of submissions has risen alongside Steam’s game events. October’s Steam Next Fest featured 7,240 games, 65.2 percent more than the June event, according to figures cited in available reports. A Reddit user also found that 49.9 percent of games released since Valve began asking developers in 2024 to label titles using AI had an AI disclosure.
Itch.io has reported growth too. The platform said the number of game pages created each day had doubled in the past 2 months. The volume puts the review bottleneck in context, while leaving developers facing the immediate problem: release plans depend on approval they cannot schedule with confidence.
Valve’s current estimate is up to 12 business days for reviews.
