Valve has made changes to the pre-release review process that games go through before launching on Steam. Citing a significant increase in store page and build review submissions in recent months, the company has added new items to the release checklist to help more developers pass review on the first try and reduce re-reviews caused by basic functional issues.
According to information Oyun Günlüğü obtained from Steamworks, build reviews that typically take 3-5 days are currently taking up to 12 business days. Valve explained that much of this delay comes from games having to be re-reviewed, and the new changes are designed to prevent that.
Games must be played through Steam for at least 5 minutes
Valve noted that it sometimes receives builds that have never been played through Steam. Developers now need to launch their game with the green “Play” button in Steam and run it for at least 5 minutes before submitting it for review. Playtime from any user counts, but it must be within the past 7 days, or since the last build if it was uploaded more than 7 days ago. This ensures launch options are configured correctly and the necessary content depots are included.
Developers must also specify which common redistributables Steam should install, such as DirectX, Visual C++, .NET and XNA, or confirm that their game doesn’t need any. New checks also flag incomplete achievement setups, including missing names, missing icons and duplicate names. For games that support Steam Cloud, a member of the developer’s partner group must write a save file to Steam Cloud to confirm the save path is set up properly, and the system will warn developers if developer mode is still enabled for cloud sync.
Screenshots now come with categories
Store pages that previously only allowed gameplay screenshots can now include images of menus, concept art and in-game cinematics, as long as they are categorized correctly. These categories will appear as labels on the store. Under the new rule, at least 5 screenshots must be categorized as gameplay, and screenshots still cannot be used for marketing copy.
Reminders before submitting for review
The review submission screen now shows reminders that change based on the features listed on a game’s store page. For example, games promising multiple languages are asked to confirm those languages are included in the build, while games with online multiplayer need to make sure servers are available for testing and provide any special credentials the review team needs. Developers are also asked to confirm they have tested the game on a PC other than their development machine and that every Steam feature listed on the store page is fully implemented.
Valve reminded developers that its review team mainly checks whether the store page is clear and complete, whether the game matches what the store page promises, and whether sensitive content such as AI usage and mature content is properly disclosed in the content survey. The company also announced that a detailed reference guide for the release checklist is coming soon.
