Valve Adds Steam Playtime Record to Review Checklist as Waits Reach 12 Business Days
Valve published an update on the pre-release review process on November 4.
1 source 22m ago
Reporting from 1 source: GameBusiness.jp.
Why it matters
Valve is treating its own backlog as the problem, but the fixes push verification onto developers, and the plain admission that some submitted builds were never launched through Steam shows how thin the first-pass checks had become.
Key Facts
- Valve published the pre-release review update on November 4.
- Steam review times previously targeted 3 to 5 business days and now run up to about 12.
- Valve now asks submitters to record at least 5 minutes of play via Steam within the past 7 days, or since the last upload.
- The checklist also covers redistributables, achievement setup, Steam Cloud saves, and at least 5 categorized gameplay screenshots.
- Valve wrote that it sometimes reviews builds that have never been played on Steam.
Store page and build reviews now take up to about 12 business days, against a previous target of 3 to 5, as submissions have risen and many builds need re-review. The release checklist now asks for a record of at least 5 minutes of play via Steam, checked redistributables, correct achievements, working Steam Cloud saves, and at least 5 gameplay screenshots with categories specified.
Steam's review queue has moved from a 3 to 5 business day target to about 12 business days at worst. Valve's November 4 post puts the cause on a large volume of games requiring re-review, and describes the checklist change as a first step so reviews can be finished on the first pass.
The most specific item is the play record. Valve wrote that its team sometimes receives builds that have never been played on Steam, even when the executable launches fine outside the client. The screenshot rule also loosens a policy that restricted store images to actual gameplay shots.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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