Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – Written by Thomas Byers, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Melbourne
As with all creative industries, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is making inroads into video games.
Non-generative AI has been in the industry long before things like ChatGPT became commonly known. Video games will include AI-driven gameplay systems such as matchmaking, non-player character (NPC) behavior, and iconic fictional AI characters such as SHODAN and GLaDOS.
Generative AI is currently being used to speed up the generation and development of game assets. This threatens creative work and fuels fears of low-effort releases and “slop.”
If you buy a video game today, there may be no reliable way to know whether generative AI was used in any part of its development, from art and audio work to code and marketing.
Should developers disclose it? Since 2023, disclosure of AI in video games has gone from non-existent to patchy. This probably has more to do with copyright concerns than being transparent with players.
crazy bass line
Steam, owned by American video game company Valve, is the largest digital storefront for PC gaming. It is also the closest to the baseline for AI disclosure. Simply because it was the first major platform to officially take a stand.
As AI rises in 2023, Valve refuses to allow AI-produced games on Steam, citing legal uncertainty, saying the company “continues to learn about AI.”
Valve formalized its disclosure rules by January 2024, requiring developers to declare two categories of AI use: pre-generated content (created during development) and live-generated content (created while the game is running).
Industry leaders are optimistic about the role of AI in game development, but disclosure remains controversial. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Steam competitor Epic Games, derided Steam’s rollout of AI in late 2025 as akin to developers telling players what kind of shampoo they use.
In recent weeks, Valve has narrowed its disclosure rules to make clear that developers submitting games to its platform must only report AI if its output is directly experienced by a player.
This changes the emphasis on related transparency and effectively gives the green light to AI coding and other behind-the-scenes processes.
Valve’s focus on player-facing AI provides a degree of transparency to consumers, and game submissions are checked before release. However, it’s unclear what will happen if a game’s maker doesn’t publish the AI when it should.
This disclosure system also allows Steam to stay ahead of legal gray areas regarding copyright and generated AI output. If necessary, Valve can immediately take titles affected by AI copyright infringement claims. This is not a completely hypothetical scenario, as some AI models can remember copyrighted material and reproduce it on demand.
There is no consistent format for AI disclosure on Steam. Developers simply provide a text field where they can write a free-form disclosure. Because it’s not treated as an official tag, consumers also can’t search for or filter AI content when browsing games on the store.
As of this writing, a search of SteamDB (the third-party catalog of the Steam database) lists over 15,000 games and software with Steam’s AI disclosure label, although the total number is not visible on Steam itself.
In response, user watchdog groups intervened. The Steam curator group AI Check tracks games with AI-generated assets and reports on whether and how developers disclose their use of AI.
Players are mostly in the dark
Outside of Steam, disclosure is inconsistent if not absent. Indie storefront itch.io offers a searchable “AI Generated” tag, but game pages are not required to disclose it.
Currently, mobile app stores and console stores (Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox) lack clear disclosures about AI and have been criticized for flooding their stores with “AI slop.”
Epic Games Store and GOG.com, another major distribution platform, also lack clear AI disclosures. GOG recently faced backlash for using AI-generated artwork in its in-store promotions.
While all of this leaves players in the dark, developers are facing a backlash against the use of AI, which many believe is detrimental to the industry.
transparency is important
Many players are concerned about the use of AI in the game and the lack of disclosure. There have been many cases where developers have been “discovered” using generative AI and have responded with ad hoc comments, property changes, or had their Game of the Year award revoked.
However, there have been cases where games using AI art were actually drawn by human artists, but suspicions have led to cancellations or false accusations.
read more:
Mistrust of AI is on the rise, but with healthy skepticism comes the risk of harm
This is why transparency around the use of AI is important. Many Australians report being unfamiliar with AI, and research suggests that having more information could change people’s views, help them make informed choices and avoid witch-hunts.
Many people have ethical concerns about the use of AI or worry about the environmental impact of how resource-intensive AI data centers are.
All of this means that while AI disclosure is currently a consumer rights issue, it is completely controlled by the platforms where people buy games.
Players don’t need to know what shampoo the developers are using. But it’s definitely worth considering whether the art was generated by AI, whether writers and voice actors were replaced, and whether games built on AI-generated code are likely to survive the update.
Steam’s disclosure system is a start, but it’s of little value if the information can’t be found or filtered. All game storefronts must make the use of generated AI clear at the time of purchase. Because players have better rights.
Thomas Byers is funded by a Research Training Program Scholarship supported by the Australian Federal Government and the University of Melbourne.
Björn Nansen receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
– reference. Are video game developers using AI? Players want to know, but the rules are patchy – https://theconversation.com/are-video-game-developers-using-ai-players-want-to-know-but-the-rules-are-patchy-274850
