Steam build reviews now take up to 12 business days as Valve works through a backlog
Valve says Steam build checks now take up to 12 business days, not 3 to 5, as submissions surge. Some indie games have already missed launch dates.
Valve has admitted that Steam's build review queue is badly behind. In a Steamworks update published in early November 2026, the company said checks that normally take three to five business days are now taking as long as 12, and that a lot of the delay comes from games that need a second review.
Indie launches caught in the queue
The slowdown is already hurting small studios. PC Gamer heard from developers of Food Devils, Wheel Make It and Cubic Earth, whose finished games sat waiting for up to 20 days. Cubic Earth's team said its trailer passed 60,000 YouTube views and 6,000 wishlists, and its community page is now filling with complaints from players who expected a release.
Why it is happening
IGN counts roughly 24,299 games released on Steam so far in 2026, against about 4,500 in all of 2016. Every title from a publisher without a track record has to pass Valve's testing for stability and malware. Valve says it has spent several weeks scaling up the process and has shipped first changes meant to help more builds pass on the first attempt, along with tips for developers. It says further fixes are coming.
Valve's post does not mention generative AI. At a recent developer event in Korea, though, its business team said it has no plan to ban AI-made games and suggested studios work harder to stand out from cheap clones. Steam still asks developers to disclose AI use.
For players, the practical effect is that a wishlisted indie game may slip by a week or two even when it is finished. If a release date passes without a launch, the review queue is a likely reason.
Source: PC Gamer and IGN, both quoting Valve's Steamworks update.
