Moderation

Self-check checklist

Before submitting your game for moderation, check it against the requirements yourself. Some requirements have explanations, so make sure to use them. Most games are rejected for publication due to violations of these rules:

Common reasons for rejection of publication

Game requirements item	Category	Violation	Explanation
1.6.1.8, 1.6.2.7	UI / Interface	Context menu on interaction	A system browser context menu appears on right-click or long press — it must be disabled in the game area.
1.6.1.6, 1.6.2.5		System player (desktop and mobile)	Audio or video content is played via the system player instead of the built-in game player — this disrupts interface integrity. More info.
4.7		Sound is not paused during ad display	During an ad playback, the game audio continues playing. Audio must be paused for the duration of the ad.
1.3		Sound continues when switching tabs	Game music or sounds do not stop when leaving the tab. The game must respond to page focus loss. More info.
2.14	SDK / Game Ready	Automatic language detection via SDK is not implemented	The interface language is set manually instead of using ysdk.environment.i18n.lang. The game must automatically adapt to the user's language. More info.
1.19.2		Game Ready is not used at all	Game Ready is not integrated, although it is required for publication in the catalog. More info.
1.1		SDK is not embedded or is embedded incorrectly	The SDK script is missing, connected from an unofficial source, or initializes with errors. More info.
1.9	Technical issues	Progress is not saved	Results, levels, or settings are not saved between sessions. More info.
1.14		Game does not launch	The loading screen freezes or the game does not reach gameplay. Check the console for initialization errors. More info.
1.14		Error at startup or during actions	JS errors appear in the browser console at startup or during gameplay that affect functionality. More info.
1.15		Game looks unfinished	The game is missing essential elements (texts, textures, controls, icons) or they don't work, or there are traces of development left ("demo", "in development", "trial version"). More info.
2.3	Compliance with description	Game does not match the declared genre	The gameplay contradicts the category selected in the Draft tab. The genre and description must accurately reflect the game's content.
8.2.2	Game title	Misleading title	The title contains words that mislead the user about the game's terms: "free", "top", "best", "бесплатно", "бесплатный", etc.

Make sure that the uploaded game archive is ready for moderation:

• Test the draft with the debug panel, it will help you find errors in the game.
• Open the game on different platforms, OS, and browsers. The app should work correctly on all those listed in the Supported platforms field.
• Test the game in draft mode to see it from the perspective of future users.

If the app has purchases, check them as well; no fees will be charged.

When you are sure that the game meets all the requirements, go to the Draft tab and click Submit for moderation. By default, the game will be published as soon as it is approved by moderation. To publish the app yourself, enable the Postpone publication option.

Moderation process

Moderation reviews games in the order they are received. There are two types of moderation:

• Full:

  • When it's conducted: before the first publication and in subsequent updates if the game files have been changed.
  • What's checked: the game build and its promotional materials.
  • Number of review stages: several. The game will be returned at the first stage where a violation is found. The list of comments may be incomplete.
  • Review timeline: 3–5 business days.

• Content:

  • When it's conducted: before launching an A/B test of icons and covers and in subsequent updates if only promotional materials have been changed.
  • What's checked: only promotional materials and their compliance with the game.
  • Number of review stages: one.
  • Review timeline: 1–2 business days.

In addition to the review time itself, consider the queue waiting time.

Moderation timelines

The number of moderation requests has grown several times compared to a year ago. Games are reviewed by people, and the team can only thoroughly review a certain number of requests per day. To prevent the queue from growing indefinitely, we have revised the queue order and limited the flow of requests for manual review: you can submit no more than two requests to publish new games at a time, and one from an account without history.

The total timeline consists of two parts:

• Queue waiting time — how long a request waits before it is picked up. Depends on the account history and current load.
• Review — 3–5 business days for full moderation and 1–2 business days for content moderation.

What affects queue order

We take the account history into account:

• the number and regularity of publications;
• game metrics of published games;
• player ratings and reviews;
• reliability: how often games were returned with a rejection and whether there were any violations of the Game requirements.

If an account has a publication history and its games consistently pass review, requests reach moderators faster. For new accounts and accounts without history, the queue waiting time may be longer and can take up to several weeks during certain periods.

This order is necessary to align the incoming flow of requests with the moderation team's capacity and to ensure platform stability and review quality with limited resources.

The queue order only affects the moderation waiting time. The Game requirements and the strictness of the review are the same for everyone.

How to reduce waiting time before publication

• Complete the self-check checklist before submitting a request: the fewer rounds of rework, the faster the game will appear in the catalog.
• Fix all comments at once. Each new request goes back into the queue, and the waiting time before resubmission doubles after each rejection.
• Publish updates for already released games — this builds the account history.

Moderation response

If the moderation decision is positive, the game status in the console will change to:

• Published: the game will be published automatically unless the Postpone publication option is enabled.
• Verified if the Postpone publication option is selected. Then, the Publish button will appear on the Draft tab.

If publication is denied, the draft will go into Rejected status. We will send the reasons for the decision to the email associated with the Yandex ID.

Rejection by moderation

If the game is denied publication:

• A Moderator’s comment will appear in the console.
• An email from moderation will be sent to the email specified in the Yandex ID.

Notifications will include specific reasons for the rejection with links to the violated Game requirements items. Moderation will attach files with recordings or screenshots of the violations.

Before resubmitting the game for review:

• If there are clarifications or testing methodologies for the violated requirements, familiarize yourself with them.
• Make changes to the game.
• Carefully check the game again for compliance with the requirements that were violated last time.
• If possible, test the game on devices similar to those used for moderation. The models of these devices will be specified in the notifications.

If you have questions about the release comments, contact support.

The number of attempts is unlimited, but the waiting time before resubmitting for moderation doubles after each rejection. The maximum waiting time is 384 hours (16 days).

If changes need to be made urgently, click the Moderation cooldown reset button. The button can be used no more than once every 28 days.

Contacting moderation

If you disagree with the moderation decision, write to us, and we will recheck it. In the form, select the requirement that mistakenly rejected the game and explain your motivation.

Updates

Over time, the requirements for games change. To ensure that the game always complies with the rules, follow the changes in requirements and announcements on our Discord server. If the changes concern your game, update it and submit it for moderation again.

These include PC, TV, which have special requirements, and phones.