Steam Build Reviews Now Taking Up to 12 Business Days, Valve Says

Valve says it is running behind on checking games before they reach Steam. In a note to developers, the company said some submissions are now taking up to 12 business days, well beyond its usual target.

A build is the playable version of a game that a developer sends to Valve for testing. Before a game can be released on Steam, the build has to meet the storefront's requirements. Valve says it normally aims to test every build within three to five days. Steamworks announcement dated 3 November 2026 puts much of the current delay down to re-reviews, meaning games Valve has to check again.

Valve has also updated its release checklist, the list of items developers must tick off before they submit. The new items ask developers to:

• Run their game through Steam for at least five minutes before submitting.
• List the common redistributables that need installing. These are shared software packages games depend on, such as DirectX, Visual C++, .NET and XNA.
• Make sure achievements, the in-game goals players can unlock, are ready.
• Confirm that Steam Cloud saves work properly, where the game supports them. Steam Cloud keeps a player's save files synced across their devices.
• Specify at least five screenshots as gameplay.

Once the checklist is complete, developers click "Mark as ready for review" to signal the build is ready. Steam's developer documentation also covers the store page, the shop listing that players see before buying. Store pages are typically reviewed in three to five business days. Developers are asked to submit at least seven business days before they want a page to go live.

The documentation also asks developers to allow at least seven business days for a build to be reviewed and approved before release. Pages and builds with adult content can take longer. Store pages must show only what is available at launch. Screenshots must show gameplay only, with no concept art, cinematic stills or marketing text. Product descriptions must be detailed and coherent, and they cannot link to other websites.

For developers with a fixed launch date, the practical change is the calendar. A submission made late in the week may not be cleared in time for a planned release, and the checklist asks for more work before the build is sent.

Once a game has been approved, developers can update it without a new review. Steam may also ask a player who left a negative review, then played a lot of the game, to update that review. Steam's documentation also allows developers who believe the wrong product version was tested for Steam Deck and Steam Machine compatibility to request a re-review and specify which platform to test.

Valve's notice gives no reason beyond the volume of work. For now, the figures it has published are the 3 to 5 day target and the current wait of up to 12 business days.