Valve says Steam is taking up to 12 business days to review game builds before release. The company has added checks meant to help more games pass on their first try.
The November 3 Steamworks update says a rise in submissions has put pressure on the review process. Valve blames much of the delay on builds that need another review. Its usual target is three to five business days.
One new check requires a game to run through the Steam client for at least five minutes before submission. Any user's playtime counts. It must be from the past seven days, or since the last build if that upload was more than a week ago.
Valve says some submitted builds have never been played through Steam. Starting the game file directly can miss faults in its Steam launch settings or installed files.
The image rules also change what players may see on store pages. Developers can now upload menu images, concept art and in-game cinematic shots if they label them correctly. They still need at least five gameplay screenshots. Marketing text in screenshots remains barred.
Other checks cover missing achievement details and required software such as DirectX or Visual C++. If a game lists Steam Cloud support, someone in its Steamworks partner group must write a save to Steam Cloud. Cloud sync must also be set for public use.
The public review guide still carries the older gameplay-only screenshot rule. Valve's newer post says updates to that guide are coming. The company says the new checks have rolled out over recent weeks.
These are checks before a game's release. Valve's guide says that once a game has passed review, its developer can update it without going through review again.