As the debate over the use of generated AI to build video games rages on, Fortnite developer Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has stepped in to call on Valve to end its disclosure of AI-generated content for Steam games.
Valve’s rules require developers to disclose their use of AI-generated content on their games’ Steam Store pages. For example, the Steam page for Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders includes a note from the developer about how the game uses AI-generated content. “During the development process, we may use procedural and AI-based tools to assist in the creation of content. In all such cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expression of our development teams.”
Activision’s Call of Duty also includes an AI disclosure, saying, “Our team uses generative AI tools to assist in the development of some of the game assets.”
However, Sweeney believes that since almost all video games use AI, there is no point in disclosing such information. In response to an
Sweeney’s tweet sparked a lot of debate about the pros and cons of Steam’s policies here. While Sweeney may be right that the use of generative AI in video game development is becoming more common, some say removing AI disclosures will make it harder for some customers to make informed purchasing decisions.
Activision recently got into this controversy when players of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Complained about AI-generated images found in-gamewhich primarily focuses on business card images with a Studio Ghibli-esque style. Trends in AI and Ghibli images earlier this year. Subsequently, members of Congress criticized Activision and called for stronger regulations to “prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs.”
I haven’t looked at the multiplayer and zombies calling cards that closely, so I’m willing to bet that they also use AI, but only the campaign and endgame calling cards have this type of overtly Sora/Grok art style. pic.twitter.com/5qmEXhoQkJ
— Kume (@Kumesicles) November 14, 2025
In the case of art, especially art sold in premium bundles or battle passes, it seems reasonable to expect that disclosure of generative AI will help inform customers’ purchasing decisions. However, this is not supported by law, and Valve is enforcing this policy because it believes it is the right thing to do. And using generative AI to create in-game art and sell it to gamers is of course different from using AI for, say, NPC behavior or animation work, which has been a part of video game development for years.
The always chatty Tim Sweeney used shampoo to make his point in response to another tweet. However, as many have pointed out, informing a customer about a shampoo is not quite the same as, say, informing a customer of a shoddy piece of AI-generated work trained on your own work instead of an artist’s.
Why stop at using AI? You could also force developers to disclose the brand of shampoo they use. Customers should know (laughs).
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 27, 2025
It’s not surprising that Sweeney would take this position regarding AI, given Fortnite’s extensive use of this technology. Over the summer, Epic announced plans to release AI Darth Vader to Fortnite and allow people to create their own AI NPCs. The original Darth Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones. Passed away in September 2024 An AI version of his voice, powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model and Eleven Labs’ Flash v2.5, was used with permission from the Jones family. Within an hour of the feature going live, Fortnite players were manipulating Vader into saying the kinds of things highly associated with the dark side of the Force, including swearing. Epic quickly applied the patch.
Speaking to IGN in June, Sweeney predicted that small teams would soon be able to use AI prompts to create video games on the scale of Nintendo’s masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “AI characters give creators endless interaction possibilities with a very simple setup, meaning that small teams can create games with huge numbers of characters and vast, interactive worlds,” he said. “What would it take for a team of 10 people to build a game like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where the AI does all the dialogue and you just write the synopsis for the characters? That could be completely achievable in the next few years.”
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Wesley is IGN’s Director of News. Find me on Twitter @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
