{
  "id": 18145801,
  "title": "Valve Says It's Seen a 'Significant Increase' in Steam Game Submissions in Recent Months, Amid 'AI Slop' Claims",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/valve-says-its-seen-a-significant-increase-in-steam-game-submissions",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-04T15:23:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/ai-slop-fuelled-steam-backlog-preventing-games-from-hitting-launch-targets"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Valve's approval process for games on Steam has often been lengthy, but it has become significantly more protracted lately due to the surge in game submissions. This year, as of November 2026, there have been around 24,299 games released on Steam, compared to approximately 4,500 games released across the entire year of 2016. Generally, it takes Valve 3-5 business days to review a game; however, the average is now 12 business days. The delay is attributed to the overwhelming volume of games and the rigorous testing process to ensure they're free from malware. Valve acknowledged the surge in game submissions, stating they've been working to scale their process to handle the increase. Despite this, significant delays persist. Valve provided developers with tips to pass reviews on the first attempt, citing issues like unready games, rejections, and the need for retesting. While Valve has not directly addressed the impact of AI-generated games on their platform, developers have been questioning how Steam plans to manage this challenge. At a recent Steam Indie Connect event in Korea, Valve's Steam Business Team fielded questions about the deluge of AI-generated games and knockoff AI clones on Steam. Valve has not ruled out banning AI games outright but suggested developers create unique games to avoid easy replication. Valve requires developers to disclose AI usage, allowing customers to vote with their wallets. Notably, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has criticized this approach as a \"political message.\" Indie platform Itch recently removed vast amounts of AI-generated content from its store, making it harder for users to find desired content.",
  "summary": "Valve’s approval process has always taken a bit of time, but it’s taking much longer lately because of the staggering volume of games hoping to launch on the platform — an issue that’s only grown with the advent of generative AI.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}