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Indie game launches delayed as Steam submission approvals slow
Steam submission approval waits are delaying indie game launches, with some developers missing planned release dates.
Key points
- Studio Daimon's Food Devils was still awaiting Steam approval after its build was submitted on October 12th.
- Publisher 2 Left Thumbs said it missed its planned Wheel Make It launch by nearly two weeks due to the review wait.
- Itch.io said the number of game pages being created per day has doubled in the past 2 months.
Why it matters. Developers may miss planned release dates while Steam review waits stay long, and Valve says reviews typically take 3-5 business days.
Many indie developers have posted on social media about unexpectedly long Steam review waits, with some missing planned launches. Studio Daimon submitted the build for Food Devils on October 12th and was still awaiting approval, game director Alfred Kamon said. Publisher 2 Left Thumbs said in October it missed its Wheel Make It launch "by nearly two weeks," while Kamon suspects AI "slop" is clogging the review queue.
Latest updates
Indie game launches delayed as Steam submission approvals slow
The Verge reports that many indie game developers have posted on social media about longer than expected approval wait times for game submissions on Steam. Some developers say the backlog is causing them to miss planned launch dates. The delays affect small studios that depend on release timing for sales. The source does not give the length of the wait times or confirm the cause from Valve. The report is based on developer posts rather than an official Steam statement.