Valve Updates Steam Release Rules Amid Flood Of AI Games

Valve is updating its Steam game release rules to help clear a backlog of approvals caused by a recent flood of new game titles, many of them made with AI. The changes come after indie games began missing launch dates, sometimes by weeks, because of unexpected review delays. Valve says its goal for new title reviews is three to five days, but the process is currently taking up to 12 business days.

New Requirements For Developers

Valve said it is introducing new checks in part to avoid re-reviews that have contributed to longer wait times. Developers must now run their games through Steam for at least five minutes to make sure they work on the platform. Valve noted that it reviews builds that have never been played through Steam, so a game that runs smoothly when a developer launches the executable directly may still have missed basic steps that affect installation and play through Steam.

The company is also requiring developers to confirm common redistributables such as DirectX and Visual C++, check that achievements are ready, confirm that Steam Cloud save paths are configured correctly, and categorize screenshots as gameplay, menus, concept art, or cinematics.

AI Games And Backlog Pressure

Left unsaid by Valve is that the store has been flooded by AI-assisted games assembled in haste, with inadequate pre-release checks. Developer 2 Left Thumbs said on X that review times spiked around September and October, and attributed the rise in part to the overwhelming amount of slop now flooding Steam. Reddit user u/ploz found that 49.9 percent of games released on Steam in October disclosed AI-generated content. In June, nearly 20 percent of Next Fest game demos disclosed the use of AI. This follows our October 28 report on Valve's response to developers fearing AI slop and clones.

Impact On Indie Developers

The delays are having consequences for developers. Cubic Earth developer structmira told PC Gamer that the game's trailer amassed more than 60,000 views on YouTube and more than 6,000 wishlists. The developer said the Steam Community page is rapidly filling with player complaints and that the team has lost all momentum.

Valve wrote in a community post that it has heard from many developers and knows how stressful it has been to wait for review build updates longer than expected. The company said more improvements are coming to the build review process, but that these initial changes are a great starting point.

Sources: engadget.com · theverge.com