AI is used in all kinds of creative sectors, from design to video editing to VFX, but game design seems to be one of the areas where technology has been featured with the fastest and most enthusiastic. I've already heard from developers that the use of AI tools is becoming more widespread, and I'm amazed at how amazing it is.
A new report shows that the number of Steam games that disclose the use of generated AI has increased by 700% in a year. This number has grown from about 1,000 games a year ago to almost 8,000 games now. This is 7% of the total Steam library. Also, almost 20% of games released this year disclose AI use.
On the one hand, it's probably not surprising given the vast array of different use cases for video game AI. It is not only used to produce art with a terrible appearance. But it's surprising given the number of gamers who are vehemently opposed to AI content.
This number has intensified the debate about whether or not to embrace AI in games – and if you're wondering how far you should start your own project, see our guide to how to get started with game design and a summary of interviews with the best indie developers.
My summer car (Image credit: Amistech Game)
The numbers come from reports entirely by the human media. The biggest games that I found to disclose AI use include My Summer Car (some AI-generated paintings), Liar's Bar (character voice), and Quinfall (in-game interface images). At the beginning, they sold over 2.5 million copies.
One of the games that boasts most of its generative AI use is Genai Roguelite, with small print disclosures appearing redundant. As the name suggests, text-based RPGs were fully generated by AI: All Places, NPCs, and game mechanics. Surprisingly, there is an 82% positive score from 432 player reviews.
People seem to like the confusion of random outcomes and the games that can't maintain a consistent story. “AI will decide you'll take damage and will soon die just to talk to friendly NPCs.” According to one review.
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos, as the editor chose.
“Look worse than a DOS game, it doesn't mean 90% of the time. Sometimes it can be fun and modern supercomputers need to be played. Welcome to the future of games.” This makes some people think that they are enjoying it just because of the stupid novelty of it.
However, not all games that disclose Gen AI use it explicitly. According to the entirely human media, we used about 60% for visual asset generation, from characters to backgrounds and textures. However, others used large-scale language models to flag offensive materials for removal, for voice and background music, text and story arcs, marketing materials including game descriptions, and coding.
The rapid rise in titles suggests how quickly generative AI is being featured by game developers, but it is also possible that more developers are following Valve's rules. AI disclosure has been mandatory since January 2024, and I don't think many details of the existing games were updated immediately. And who knows how many games do not disclose their use of AI?
Completely human points out that many titles carefully word their disclosures to adhere to while they try to argue that the game still contains human curation and refinement, and that the game still has “artistic integrity.” I don't know if such an explanation would do much to shake up people who oppose the use of AI in all forms of video games.
Reactions to reports among gamers are mixed. On Reddit, some people said they were disappointed to see indie developers who use AI rather than human artists, and questioned why everyone pays for games made with AI. Some say they will soon add the ai-disclosing game to their ignore list. On the other side, some argue that gamers boycott all of their use of AI could soon leave only retro gaming consoles.
In the middle, some people recognize the various forms and complexities of AI's use. Large language models can be trained on copyright materials without a license or on in-house materials. Some players are fine with minor AI use, unless they have core assets.
“In games where art-conscious people should be able to appreciate, AI has cool use cases. Motion matching, PCG stuff is working on.
This is not an argument that will disappear anytime soon. Personally, I'm happy that Steam adds AI disclosure tags so at least you can make an informed choice. What do you think? Are you satisfied with the AI of game design? Please let us know in the comments.
If you are starting out in game design yourself, check out our guide to the best game development software and the best laptops for game development.
