Valve said Steam game reviews could take up to 12 business days in a November 3, 2026 update, compared with a typical three to five. The Verge reported that Valve cited a significant rise in store and page review submissions and said repeat reviews for basic functional problems accounted for much of the delay. The update also described checklist changes intended to reduce those repeat reviews.
How long did Valve say reviews could take?
The reported window was up to 12 business days, against a typical estimate of three to five. That was the upper window Valve gave in the November 3 update, not a completion deadline for every submission. The update attributed the longer waits to increased submissions and re-reviews.
Checklist changes target repeat reviews
Valve’s reported checklist changes included running a game through Steam for at least five minutes, making sure achievements were ready, and checking that required shared components such as DirectX or Visual C++ were covered. The aim was to catch basic functional issues before a submission reached review again. The Verge reported the checklist details from Valve’s Steamworks update.
BiteMe Games discusses the same update and the creator’s scheduling concerns for Desktop Island, then recommends sending a minimum viable build months ahead of a planned release. That is the creator’s planning advice, not a review-time estimate from Valve.
Food Devils missed its planned release
Studio Daimon announced on Steam that it had to delay Food Devils by a few days. Rock Paper Shotgun reported that the studio submitted the build on October 12 and was still awaiting approval when the game’s planned November 3 release arrived. The case gives a dated example of a developer’s release being affected while a review was pending. Studio Daimon’s delay announcement.
Build review is one of several Steamworks steps
Community discussions describe identity and tax verification, store-page approval, and game-build review as separate waits. The 12-business-day estimate concerned game review; it does not provide a timing estimate for each onboarding step. When comparing another developer’s reported wait, identify which step was pending first.
