Multiple small and mid-sized game developers have told us they are seeing a serious slowdown in app review times, stretching approvals from the expected 24-48 hours to several weeks in some cases.
The studios who contacted us wished to remain anonymous to protect their relationships with Apple. They said that getting through Apple’s App Review process has become much more difficult and time-consuming in recent months, and it is costing them time and money.
They also noted that they had not seen a similar decline on Google’s Play Store, where review times have remained mostly the same.
The culprit appears to be AI-made apps and games. Back in April, The Information reported that AI-made apps and games had caused an 84% year-on-year jump in submissions to Apple’s App Store. Apple’s developer forums are also awash with complaints about app review timings, and sources like Runway’s app review times tracker also note a recent rise in average review times.
“This poor service by Apple is costing developers significantly”
One game developer CEO told us: “Devs are waiting weeks for updates and new app submissions to be approved by Apple…it’s gone back a decade in terms of approval times. Google is totally fine, though!”
Another said: “Apple’s app review response times have stretched from the stated 24–48 hours to weeks. When a reply does arrive, it is frequently a generic automated template rather than an insightful evaluation. In contrast, Google Play’s review timeline has remained consistent with no observed delays.”
“At the time of writing we have five apps waiting for review for over a week, and all were approved on Google Play within 24 hours. Time is money, and these extended waiting periods directly disrupt developer release schedules and product roadmaps. This poor service by Apple is costing developers significantly.”
Another boss at a small studio told us: “We’ve experienced repeated issues with app reviews, including seemingly automated rejections based on inaccurate conclusions, test accounts and review notes being overlooked, and games being flagged as spam or copies based on generic gameplay mechanics or visual style.”
“Reviews often take 3–5 days, even when expedited, while feedback is frequently vague and appears not to reflect our app descriptions or testing instructions. For a small studio, this creates unnecessary back-and-forth, delays critical updates and releases, costs valuable time, and results in lost revenue.”
The bottleneck appears to be for new app and game submissions; one mid-sized studio we contacted about the issues said they had not seen any change in update review times for their well-established game, which has been live on the App Store for around five years.
Apple’s response: ‘We continue to evolve our review process’
When contacted for comment, Apple told us that in order to keep pace with the number of submissions to App Review, it has prioritised reviews of updates to existing apps, expanded its use of automation, strengthened abuse detection and added safeguards against repeated submissions with the same unresolved issues.
The tech giant also said that in the last 12 weeks its App Review team processed an average of 378,000 app submissions per week. It said these had an average review time of 1.5 days for all apps and 14 hours for minor updates, though some new apps take longer when they are deemed to need additional scrutiny.
It also recently launched its App Review Help portal, and stressed that developers can request an expedited review or use the bug fix submission process where relevant.
Apple’s App Store spokesperson added: “The App Store has always been a place where anyone with a great idea can reach users around the world. We’re excited to see developers embracing the latest tools to turn their ideas into apps, and we continue to evolve our review process to support that growth.”
“Every app, regardless of how it’s built, is held to the same high standards for quality, privacy, and security that users have come to trust.”
