Five Minutes of Proof: What Steam's New Dev Playtime Rule Me…

The rule adds a small but symbolic hurdle for every Steam submission, pushing developers to actually launch their own builds—though five minutes is easy to satisfy without proving much about quality.

The rule adds a small but symbolic hurdle for every Steam submission, pushing developers to actually launch their own builds—though five minutes is easy to satisfy without proving much about quality.

Key points - Steamworks now lists a "Played Through Steam for 5 Minutes" requirement in the build checklist. - Developers must play via Steam on the owning account for at least 5 minutes before review submission. - The play session must occur within the past 7 days or since the current build was uploaded. - The check sits alongside depot setup, build configuration, and launch options in the checklist. - Valve has not confirmed when the rule began or whether it targets AI-generated games.

Timeline - n/a: Developers begin reporting the 5-minute play requirement in Steamworks checklists. - n/a: A Reddit developer notes their main game passed the check while the Playtest build did not. - n/a: Valve's official documentation remains unchanged regarding the rule's origin or intent.

FAQ

Q: Do I need to play my Playtest build separately? A: Yes. Developers report each build, including Steam Playtest versions, needs its own 5-minute session through Steam.

Q: Does this mean Valve is quality-checking my game? A: No. The check only confirms the game was launched through Steam for 5 minutes—no progress or completion is required.

Q: Is this rule aimed at AI-generated games? A: Valve hasn't said. Official Steam docs don't specify the reason, though it arrives amid a surge of AI-made titles.