An indie video game publisher is concerned about Steam's game approval process after a delayed launch left its new co-op game with a peak of just 15 simultaneous players in its first 24 hours. Gamers put it on over 11,000 wishlists.
Here's what to know
Wheel Make It was set for an Oct. 12 release but did not arrive until Nov. 1, Dexerto reported.
The game's publisher, 2 Left Thumbs (@2_left_thumbs), blamed the delay on a review backlog it attributed to "AI-slop" in an X post.
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 I beg to differ... 11,000+ wishlists and this is what our launch turned into https://t.co/t7gR2yFj8x
— 2 Left Thumbs (@2_left_thumbs) November 2, 2026
Local co-op became a sticking point in Steam's approval process for Wheel Make It. The physics-based game's challenge is one of coordination: two players each operate a different wheel of the same wheelchair to get past obstacles.
"You literally just share a keyboard," 2 Left Thumbs explained on X.
In an Oct. 12 announcement on Steam, the developers said the game had spent roughly two weeks in the approval queue.
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2 Left Thumbs was concerned that missing the scheduled release would affect the game's visibility on the storefront, limiting its chance to reach players at launch.
More background
Generative AI's growing role in an already crowded marketplace has become a concern for smaller developers. Steam, Valve's PC gaming storefront, receives thousands of new games every month, according to Dexerto.
AI systems rely on electricity-consuming computing infrastructure, and running them can require substantial energy and water.
An analysis reported by Dexerto examined about 63,600 releases and found that 49.9% of October 2026 releases disclosed AI use. Only 1.7% did so in January 2024.
Where can I learn more?
AI has also drawn player backlash on Steam and added to some developers' costs.
• SEGA's revived Total War: SHOGUN 2 faced Steam player backlash over alleged undisclosed AI use.
• Steam's Teach My Little Sister How To Drive took off, but AI costs pushed developers into debt.
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