Official Group for Steamworks Development Support

We've seen a significant increase in submissions for store page and build review in recent months, and have spent the last several weeks working to scale our process to match it. Though we still have a ways to go, we want to share the initial improvements that have shipped in the past weeks. The changes are designed to help more developers pass build review the first time, and cut down on re-reviews for basic functional issues.

We've heard from a lot of developers and know how stressful it's been having to wait for review build updates longer than expected. More improvements are coming to the build review process, but these initial changes are a great starting point. 

We'll also continue adding to our documentation about release checklists so that you have a handy guide for the key things that will be checked during the review process.

Read on for the most notable additions to the release checklist.

Believe it or not, sometimes we review builds that have not ever been played through Steam. This means that even if a game runs smoothly when a dev launches their executable directly, they might have missed basic steps that would impact a user installing and playing via Steam. The release checklist now requires some Steam playtime before submitting for review, which will help ensure that a game has configured launch options correctly and included the necessary content depots.

To complete this checklist item:

• Click the green "Play" button in Steam to launch and run your game for at least 5 minutes.

• Any playtime from any user is valid.

• The playtime must be within the past 7 days, or since your last build if it was uploaded longer than 7 days ago.

Note that there is a couple minutes delay from when you exit the game to when the playtime is recorded and reflected on the release checklist.

Steam can automatically install many common redistributables which your app may use such as DirectX, Visual C++, .NET, XNA, and so forth. Many game engines don't need any of these set, but some absolutely do need to make sure these things are installed in order for the engine to operate. As part of the pre-release checklist, you'll need to specify which ones Steam should install, or indicate that your game doesn't need any of these.

We added some checks to call out if we notice incomplete achievement configuration such as missing names, icons, duplicate names and so forth.

When Steam Cloud is indicated as a supported feature, we'll now require that a save file be written to Steam Cloud by a member of your partner group. This will ensure that the save path is configured properly. We'll also call out if you still have developer mode enabled for your cloud sync, as you'll need to set that public in order for players to be able to use the feature.

Screenshots now have a few categories which you can choose from. Previously game developers could only upload screenshots that show gameplay - now you can provide images of your menu, concept art, or screenshots of in-game cinematics, as long as you categorize them correctly. These categories will appear as labels on the screenshots when shown on the store so that players have more context to understand the images you've chosen to provide.

Reminder that you still cannot use screenshots to provide marketing copy.

With all of the features and options a game can offer players, it can be hard to remember if you've completed everything you've promised on your store page. We now surface some of the most common issues we see missed, along with asking for some information to help our reviewers from the start. For example, if your game offers multiple languages and you've indicated that on your store page, we'll ask you to ensure you've included them in your build or if your game has multi-player but our reviewers need special accounts to access that feature prior to release, there's a text field to include credentials. These reminders are dynamic based on the features indicated on your game's store page.

Q. How long does it take to review my game build?

A. We aim to test every game build in a timely manner, typically within 3-5 business days. However, we're running a little behind right now and taking up to 12 business days. Much of that delay is due to having to re-review games, which isn't great for you or for us. The changes above are aimed at helping games pass review quickly the first time.

Q. Is there a list of all the new required checklist items?

A. While you can find these new updated items directly in your release checklist on the right-hand side of your app landing page in Steamworks, we're also working on updating our documentation with a handy reference guide for your release checklist (coming soon!)

Q. Got any tips for speeding through the review process?

A. Yes! The review team here is generally checking for a few key things. If you look at your game and store page with these concepts in mind, you should be able to get your game reviewed quickly:

1. Are the store page and assets clear and complete? Our team is looking at your store page to ensure that it tells a clear story about your game, and that it's understandable. We often see failures if the written descriptions are incomplete or overly vague or if the logo in the capsule images isn't legible. 

2. Does the game build match what's promised on the store page? Our team installs and plays your game. They are looking to gauge whether the experience they have in the game generally matches what is described on the store page. Are all the features present in the game that are promised on the store page? Can our testers get to all the language options promised on the store page? 

3. Does the game build contain sensitive content that is not clearly disclosed to customers? Our review team is also comparing the content in the game with elements disclosed in the content survey, such as mature content and AI usage.

If you look over your store page and game build with these things in mind, and consider the customer experience of interacting with your store page and game, you should be well equipped for your pre-release review process.