Valve said Steam build reviews could take up to 12 business days on Nov. 3

Valve said on November 3, 2026, that Steam build reviews were taking up to 12 business days, compared with the usual three to five days. The announcement also added a pre-submission check: run the game through Steam for at least five minutes. Valve’s Steamworks announcement

What Valve said about review timing

Valve attributed much of the delay to repeat reviews of builds with problems. The 12-business-day estimate applies to the build-review queue described in that dated announcement.

The five-minute check means launching the game from Steam before submitting it for review. It helps catch basic setup issues that might not appear when a developer launches the game directly. Valve’s release-review announcement

Store-page review and build review are separate

Valve’s Steamworks documentation describes two reviews: one for the store page and another for the game build. It gives both a typical review duration of three to five business days and advises allowing at least seven business days for each.

Valve’s Steamworks review-process guidance

The seven-business-day guidance is separate from the longer build-review estimate Valve gave on November 3. For an initial submission, Valve also recommends a near-final build. Once the game is approved, developers can update it without another review, according to the same guidance.

How a delayed review can affect an indie launch

Studio Daimon director Alfred Kamon said a pending Steam review disrupted the planned launch of Food Devils. He said the game was submitted on October 12, 2026, and that Valve raised a content concern on October 26. His account is one developer’s experience; it does not establish a platform-wide delay pattern.

Valve did not identify AI-generated games as the cause of the backlog. Its stated explanation focused on repeat reviews amid increased submissions.