Salacious Fire Emblem-ish Food Devils Is Delayed Because Its Developers Say Valve's Review Queue Is Clogged With Generative AI Games

Background: A Planned Steam Launch Becomes a Missed Date

Edwin, writing for The Maw, had planned to feature Food Devils as part of the day's coverage. The game is described as a salacious, food-themed take on Fire Emblem, and it was meant to be available on Steam today. Instead, the launch did not happen, and developer Studio Daimon said the problem was not with the game itself but with Steam's approval process.

The situation points to a broader bottleneck: Steam requires developers to submit builds for review before release. That review is meant to confirm that the submitted build matches the game's description and does not contain malware, among other checks. Studio Daimon said it submitted Food Devils on October 12th, more than 20 days ago, and had not received approval in time for the planned release.

Development Process: Steam Review Timelines and the Studio Daimon Complaint

In a Steam blog post shared earlier today, Studio Daimon explained that developers see a disclaimer before submitting a build. The disclaimer states that review typically takes 3-5 business days, but developers should allow up to 7 business days in case feedback needs to be addressed.

The developer's experience went beyond that window. It wrote that it can only assume Steam's review queue is clogged by AI slop, and that the whole process is now taking several weeks for some developers. The post also said many developers were affected by sudden and massive delays throughout October, with some forced to postpone releases. Studio Daimon included itself in that group.

The studio added that it sent another ticket last week, warning that the situation was urgent and that it might miss its release date. That ticket was ignored. Studio Daimon said it believes Valve's staff may be overwhelmed, but it still had no estimate for when Food Devils could launch.

Latest Progress: AI Disclosure Data and Steam Release Volume

The blog post cited data from Game Discovery Tool suggesting that AI-related submissions may have grown sharply. More than 50% of games released in October on Steam featured an AI disclosure, according to that source. Valve has required games to disclose AI use since January 2024. One year later, in January 2025, just over 14% of games featured such a disclosure. In January 2026, the figure jumped to a little over 25%, and the October figure was more than 50%.

Release volume on Steam also rose. According to SteamDB data, a little over 2000 games were released on the platform in October 2025. In October 2026, that number jumped to almost 4000. Those figures do not prove that AI submissions caused the delay, but they show a crowded review pipeline and a rapid increase in games tied to AI disclosures.

A Food Devils gameplay overview trailer was also available on YouTube, giving players a view of the game while its release remains uncertain.

What It Means for Players and Developers

For players, the immediate effect is simple: Food Devils cannot be bought or played on Steam yet, even though its planned launch day had arrived. Studio Daimon said it is still hoping to release by the end of the week, but it cannot make plans or promises because the approval decision is out of its control. For readers who want to be ready whenever the game launches, the studio suggested adding it to a wishlist.

For developers, the episode highlights how a platform review queue can shape a release schedule. If approval normally takes days but stretches into weeks, launch-day coverage and the ability to meet a promised date can be disrupted. The case does not prove that AI games caused Food Devils' delay, but it shows how rapidly growing submission volume and AI disclosure trends are now part of the conversation around Steam releases.

As of Studio Daimon's latest update, Food Devils remains unreleased on Steam, with its next status update dependent on Valve completing the review.