Steam requires developers to play their own games for “at least 5 minutes”

Valve is apparently feeling the effects of the flood of AI-generated games on Steam (in German) firsthand. The company says it is currently experiencing a backlog in reviewing new submissions, with the process now taking up to 12 days instead of the usual three to five. This may also explain why Valve updated its review process on November 3.

According to Valve, the longer processing times are partly due to games failing basic technical checks. "Sometimes we review builds that have not ever been played through Steam," the company explains. That's exactly where the new requirement comes in. The release checklist for new Steam games now includes a step requiring at least five minutes of playtime through Steam. The idea is to make sure developers verify that their games actually run through Steam before submitting them for review.

The announcement has struck a chord on Reddit. Many commenters blame the influx of mass-produced AI games for the growing number of submissions and are calling on Valve to take stronger action. However, whether Valve will introduce stricter entry requirements remains unclear. As Valve employees Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson have explained, the company wants to address the problem through its recommendation algorithms instead. Some community members support this approach, fearing that stricter rules could also hurt small indie studios and prevent interesting games from reaching the store. Feel free to share your thoughts on the issue in the comments below.