Indie game publisher blames Steam approval delay and “tidal wave of AI slop” after its game peaks at 15 players

Getting thousands of players to wishlist a game before launch should be a positive sign for an indie developer. However, publisher 2 Left Thumbs says things didn’t go according to plan with its latest release, Wheel Make It. Despite gathering more than 11,000 wishlists on Steam, the game reportedly reached a peak of only 15 concurrent players following its release, with the publisher blaming problems surrounding Steam’s approval process for hurting its launch.

Developed by tlproductions, Wheel Make It was originally supposed to launch on October 12, but the release was eventually pushed back to November 1. According to the publisher, the game spent around two weeks going through Steam’s review process, with multiple issues preventing it from being approved on schedule.

One of those problems reportedly involved a misunderstanding surrounding the game’s local co-op system, which requires players to share a keyboard to access the mode. The game later faced another rejection related to accessing resolution settings while using a controller. Steam finally approved Wheel Make It on October 23, but by that point, its original release plans had already been disrupted.

How did the release go?

Instead of immediately releasing the game, the publisher waited until November 1 in an attempt to rebuild some of the momentum it had lost. However, 2 Left Thumbs claims it was unable to properly display a replacement release date on the Steam store page during this period, making it harder to communicate the new launch date to players who had already wishlisted the game.

The publisher also claims Steam’s review queue was overwhelmed by a large number of low-effort games created using generative AI, which was evident during Steam’s Next Fest event last month. According to 2 Left Thumbs, Steam had assured the team that missing its original release window wouldn’t affect the normal visibility given to a newly launched game. The publisher now believes that wasn’t the case, pointing toward the game’s low player count despite having more than 11,000 wishlists.

Interestingly, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney liked the publisher’s post discussing the situation, which attracted even more attention to the complaint. However, 2 Left Thumbs later clarified that its frustration was mainly directed toward the amount of generative AI content allegedly filling Steam’s review queue rather than Valve itself.

Written by

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.

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