Key Notes
- Jacob Navok argues Valve should invest more in Steam’s review systems, citing Roblox’s automation as a model rather than blaming AI-made games.
- Valve acknowledges waits of up to 12 business days and says repeat reviews account for much of the delay as submissions increase.
- Steam’s updated checklist adds launch testing and feature checks, while the company has given no date for restoring its usual turnaround.
Former Square Enix business executive Jacob Navok has criticized Valve over Steam’s extended game-review queues, arguing that the company should put more resources into staff and automated moderation. His comments follow Valve’s admission that build reviews are taking up to 12 business days, compared with its usual target of three to five.
In a November 4 post, Navok rejected the idea that a rise in AI-made games adequately explains the problem. He described Steam as “derelict of its duty” and pointed to Roblox as an example of a platform investing in systems that can handle large volumes of new content.
The problem is Steam is derelict of its duty.
— Jacob Navok (@JNavok) November 4, 2026
Navok Points to Roblox’s Automated Reviews
Navok claimed Steam generates roughly three times Roblox’s revenue while Roblox receives up to 1,000 times as many new games per day. In his comparison, automated checks allow Roblox releases to appear within seconds while Steam developers can wait weeks.
He argued that Roblox’s investment in research, AI-assisted content analysis and appeals demonstrates that moderation can be scaled. He also accused Valve of failing to invest enough in review infrastructure despite taking a share of developers’ sales.
Those figures and the assessment of Valve’s spending are Navok’s claims. His post does not provide a matched dataset establishing the platforms’ review workloads, staffing costs or approval times, so the comparison should not be treated as a measured efficiency ranking.
Valve Says Repeat Reviews Are Slowing the Queue
Valve’s own announcement describes a significant rise in store-page and build submissions. It says the company has spent several weeks scaling its process and that much of the current delay comes from games needing to be reviewed again after basic functional problems are found.
The announcement does not identify AI-generated games as the cause. Valve’s explanation focuses on submission volume and repeat checks, alongside checklist changes intended to help more games pass on their first attempt.
We reported on the new requirement to run a game through Steam for at least five minutes before submitting it. Valve says a build can work when launched directly yet fail when installed or opened through the client, making that test useful for catching configuration mistakes.
The checklist also flags incomplete achievements, asks developers to confirm required software components and checks cloud-save configuration. Where Steam Cloud is advertised, a member of the developer’s partner group must write a save file to it before review.
Different Publishing Models Complicate the Comparison
Roblox and Steam do not receive the same kind of submission. Roblox’s publishing guide describes games built in Roblox Studio and uploaded as place data within its platform. Publishing a project to the cloud and releasing it publicly are separate steps, with new projects private by default.
Steam instead reviews standalone game builds and their store listings. Its review documentation says the submitted build must launch on the operating systems advertised and include the features promised to buyers. That means a quick Roblox upload is not, by itself, a like-for-like substitute for checking a PC release.
For developers, the immediate problem remains the wait between submitting a finished build and receiving approval. Steam requires both the store presence and the game build to pass review before launch, so a completed marketing campaign cannot remove that final dependency.
Valve says more improvements are coming, but its announcement sets no date for returning to the usual three-to-five-business-day target. Developers preparing to submit are being asked to supply near-final builds and resolve delivery, feature and content-disclosure issues before entering the queue.
