Valve Changes AI Disclosure Guidelines on Steam for Game Developers

Valve seems to have redefined Steam's guidelines for disclosure of AI use in game development. The company has clarified that the use of AI-powered tools to speed up game development processes does not require the developer to provide an AI disclosure on its game's Steam page. The focus, Valve has explained, is on disclosing AI-generated content that ships with the game.

GameDiscoverCo's Simon Carless spotted (via VGC) the change in Valve's AI disclosure guidelines that mandate studios to detail AI use on their game's Steam page. The PC games storefront now acknowledges that AI tools may be built into many game development processes and hence do not need to be disclosed.

“We are aware that many modern game development environments have AI powered tools built into them. Efficiency gains through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section,” reads the generative AI disclosure form for developers, as seen in a screenshot posted by Carless on LinkedIn.

“Instead, it is concerned with the use of AI in creating content that ships with your game, and is consumed by players. This includes content such as artwork, sound, narrative, localization, etc.,” the form reads.

What Developers Need to Disclose

Developers still need to disclose use of generative AI to generate content — either pre-rendered or live generated — across the game, the Steam store page, Steam community assets or marketing materials.

Just like the earlier version of the form, developers also need to describe their use of generative AI in a text box. The studio's message will be displayed in the ‘About This Game' section of the game's Steam store page.

Steam also requires developers to disclose if their game uses AI to generate content or code during gameplay.

The guideline isn't doing away with AI disclosures, but it is clarifying the distinction between the use of AI-powered tools that aid or speed up various processes of game development and the inclusion of AI-generated assets within the game, its store page, or marketing materials.

The AI disclosure section on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Steam store page

Generative AI in Game Development

Valve's move to tweak its AI disclosure guidelines comes at a time when AI in game development has become a hot button topic. While the use of generative AI in creating game assets, concept art, text, or other content is frowned upon and AI-generated content is often labelled “slop” by players, several developers have admitted to using the technology to speed up development times and cut down development costs.

Recently, Larian Studios received backlash after confirming it used AI in its game development processes, including concept art. Later, the studio clarified it won't use any GenAI art in its next game, Divinity.

“I know there's been a lot of discussion about us using AI tools as part of concept art exploration. We already said this doesn't mean the actual concept art is generated by AI but we understand it created confusion. So, to ensure there is no room for doubt, we've decided to refrain from using genAI tools during concept art development. That way there can be no discussion about the origin of the art,” Larian CEO Swen Vincke confirmed in a Reddit AMA earlier this month.

But Vincke said that AI could help the studio in other departments. The Larian boss said the company would use AI tools to help “refine ideas faster” and deliver a “higher-quality game”.

In a separate instance, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Game of the Year Win at Indie Game Awards was retracted over Sandfall Interactive's use of generative AI in the development process. The French developer later clarified that there were no generative Al-created assets in the game. Some AI-generated temporary placeholder textures were present in the game at launch due to oversight, but were patched out within five days, Sandfall explained.

Steam has required developers to provide AI disclosure on their game's store page since 2024. For instance, on Arc Raiders' Steam page, the AI generated content disclosure section reads: “During the development process, we may use procedural- and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. In all such cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expression of our own development team.”

The same section on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Steam page says: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets.”

Both Arc Raiders and Black Ops 7 faced criticism from players over the use of AI-generated voice lines and artwork, respectively.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, however, believes AI labels on game storefronts make “no sense”. In November, Sweeney said that AI would be involved in nearly all future game production, making AI disclosures irrelevant.