Wheel Make It publisher 2 Left Thumbs aired frustrations with Valve after its new co-op game hit just 15 peak concurrent players amid a launch delayed by apparent complications with Steam's approval pipeline.
"We were assured by Steam that missing our launch - as a result of the tidal wave of AI-slop that destroyed their review queue - would not affect the usual mechanisms of launch visibility," the publisher wrote on Sunday. "I beg to differ... 11,000+ wishlists and this is what our launch turned into."
Today's SteamDB figures affirm 2 Left Thumbs' complaint: a 24-hour peak of 15 players, and three players right now. Wheel Make It currently has 11 user reviews (90% positive, anyway).
As Valve admits Steam has an AI slop and cloning problem, I've seen other developers anecdotally report that the store's review process seems to be taking longer than usual, especially during and around Steam Next Fest events flooded with AI-aided games. We're only a few weeks out from the October Next Fest, which set records in a concerning way.
Another developer, Komi Games, shared a similar story a few days ago. The dev claims it submitted its game Infested DX for review on October 9, received a reply from Valve on October 21 requesting a small change that was immediately made and turned around, but "have not gotten a follow-up and have no choice but to wait until they acknowledge and approve the change."
There are some assumptions at play here, and it's unclear exactly how much the rise in AI-aided games has slowed Steam's review pipeline, but I don't doubt that the added volume has been a burden. (Open marketplace Itch.io also said, on October 31, that "the number of game pages being created per day has doubled in the past 2 months," seemingly boosted by AI.) "I have to assume Steam's review system was backed WAY up filtering through 1000s of AI slop games," 2 Left Thumbs said on October 25. "But we're now releasing from a disadvantaged position, without a public date on the page or pre-release momentum."
A game launching on Steam and reaching very few players isn't strange. That probably happens at least 1,000 times a month, and even that is conservative. 2 Left Thumbs specifically skewers Valve for failing to approve Wheel Make It quickly enough for it to meet its intended launch date. The game was meant to launch on October 12, wasn't approved until October 25, and ultimately came out on November 1.
"The real point here is simply that the delayed launch shattered the momentum we had been building up," the publisher adds in a Twitter reply. "And without the ability to formally set a new date, we had to effectively shadow-drop. That would have harmed the launch of just about any game!"
2 Left Thumbs also responded to suggestions that some other factors may have blunted this game's launch. To sum that feedback up: perhaps Wheel Make It, a physics-based comedy co-op game about rocketing around in a wheelchair, is not that good or unique.
"We're not pretending this is an elite indie gem that the world is being deprived of, or that we should be topping charts," the publisher wrote. "It's friendslop, made by a small team of devs who thought it'd be fun. We're not shy about that!"
"The demo response, wishlists and pre-launch momentum back on the 12th all told a different story," the publisher adds. "But it's not impossible that today the majority of people simply decided to save their $5."
An October 12 Steam post from Wheel Make It developer tlproductions adds some details to this story. Wheel Make It failed the review process at least once, according to an October 21 update: "The game failed review for an entirely new reason not previously flagged for our attention. One single option in the menu (the resolution setting) was not accessible with a controller. Steam has also confirmed we will not be allowed to set a new date... This process has been a nightmare."
If you're wondering why a developer would submit their game for review so close to launch, have a gander at the Steamworks documentation covering the review process: "Our review of your store presence typically takes 3-5 business days to complete, but you'll want to submit your page for review at least 7 business days before you want it live to account for potential changes you'll need to make." Many devs say it has been taking much longer than "3-5 business days" to get the green light.
Like a shark to chum, this whole mess apparently attracted the attention of chatty Steam opponent and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. 2 Left Thumbs says (with a screenshot of Twitter notifications) the CEO liked their post grilling Valve.
"Tim Sweeney liking this is very unexpected and genuinely hilarious to see," the publisher says. "I assume he's taking it as Steam-bashing, when really all my anger goes out to genAI." Sweeney is, of course, a vocal gen AI supporter.
"I've had a pretty lengthy back and forth with them on it already over the last few weeks," 2 Left Thumbs says of Valve's support team. "They heard me out, and were clear on their position. This situation stinks. But their support team is always pleasant, even if I don't agree with the occasional ruling."
