{"id":66066,"date":"2026-05-01T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66066"},"modified":"2026-05-01T14:49:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T05:49:28","slug":"indie-developer-claims-their-ready-to-ship-game-has-been-waiting-for-steam-approval-for-three-years-holdup-likely-related-to-game-engine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/indie-developer-claims-their-ready-to-ship-game-has-been-waiting-for-steam-approval-for-three-years-holdup-likely-related-to-game-engine\/","title":{"rendered":"Indie developer claims their\u00a0ready-to-ship\u00a0game\u00a0has been waiting for Steam approval for three years.\u00a0Holdup\u00a0likely related\u00a0to game engine\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A game developer recently took to Reddit with a plea for advice from fellow devs, saying their game still hasn\u2019t been approved for release on Steam even after three years. It turns out that the issue may lie with the game engine they\u2019re using. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To release a game on Steam, developers must submit a build to Valve for review. According to Valve, this process typically takes three to five business days, or up to a week at most. Against that backdrop, the studio\u2019s claim that it has been waiting three years for approval has drawn attention in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The developer in question is MOONLIT JOURNEYS, currently working on AMYGDALA: Prelude<\/a>, a retro-style horror FPS set in 1990s Australia, where players fight monsters using a variety of firearms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On April 30, the studio\u2019s founder Iwannaseetheend posted on the r\/gamedev subreddit<\/a> saying that despite submitting their game for review, there has been virtually no progress for the past three years. While they\u2019ve been in contact with Steam support to occasionally provide information that\u2019s asked of them, responses have been slow, sometimes taking months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iwannaseetheend says that their team has followed all instructions, yet nothing has moved forward in the process. The game is, in their view, ready for release, but remains stuck in limbo, with only its Wishlist numbers continuing to grow indefinitely. Watching other developers release games in the meantime has left them and their team members increasingly anxious that their own title may never be able to ship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The catch is, according to the developer, that Steam support informed them that in order to sell AMYGDALA: Prelude, they would need to enter into a commercial agreement with Valve. This appears to be tied to the fact that the game is built using the Source Engine, Valve\u2019s own proprietary engine, used in its in-house titles (like Half Life 2) as well as by some external developers. It\u2019s possible that using the Source Engine is contributing to the delay, as replies from other developers suggest that similar holdups have occurred specifically with Source Engine projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AMYGDALA: Prelude is actively developed by just 3 people!

We use Source Engines Hammer editor, as well as free open source tools such as Blender, Audacity, Gimp, Visual Studio and in-house tools for making the game.

If you want to make games, everything you need is out there! pic.twitter.com\/PnQoYULR0Q<\/a><\/p>— \ud83c\udf39 Jasper Carmack \ud83c\udf39 (@JasperCarmack) March 6, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>