Epic's Tim Sweeney Challenges Steam's AI Disclosure Labels, Predicts Universal AI Adoption in Gaming

Epic's Tim Sweeney says AI labels on Steam are meaningless as generative tools become universal

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is pushing back against the way major PC storefronts flag games that use generative AI. He argues that labels like Steam's "AI-generated content disclosure" have no place in online game stores because AI will soon be embedded in almost every part of the production process. Valve introduced a formal policy on generative AI for Steam in early 2024, requiring developers to disclose how AI systems are used in each game and adding visible 'AI-generated content' disclosures on individual store pages. Nexon's co-op shooter Arc Raiders is one such example. Sweeney's position, laid out in a reply on X, is that this kind of tagging might make sense for galleries or stock-asset marketplaces where authorship and licensing status are central to the transaction, but not for consumer game stores. In his view, generative AI is quickly becoming just one more tool in a long chain of software - from compilers to physics engines - that underpins game development. Once AI is ubiquitous, singling it out on store pages becomes meaningless. The Epic CEO has previously argued that generative systems can shrink production bottlenecks and give smaller teams access to capabilities that once required large art, writing, or QA departments. He has described scenarios where models generate context-sensitive dialogue guided by human voice actors rather than entirely replacing them. The disagreement over labels comes amid unresolved legal fights about whether training data scraped from the public internet infringes the rights of artists, writers, and other rights holders whose work ends up in model corpora without permission or compensation. Media companies have begun suing AI vendors over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted catalogs, and rights experts expect those cases to shape how courts treat both model training and downstream outputs. Valve's disclosure rules are one way platforms are trying to insulate themselves from that uncertainty. For now, PC storefronts are experimenting with different answers to the same question: whether generative AI is a special case that warrants consumer-facing labels or simply another layer in the tech stack that can be handled behind the scenes. If Sweeney's prediction proves accurate and AI appears in nearly every release, platform-level disclosures could eventually become so common as to be little more than a checkbox. However, many developers and players still argue that the label matters because it encodes both ethical concerns about training data and aesthetic preferences about how games should look and sound. How long the gap between Steam's approach and Epic's will persist may depend less on technical adoption - AI use in game development is expanding rapidly. Instead, it may hinge on whether regulation, litigation, or sustained consumer pressure forces game stores to treat AI not just as an internal production detail, but as material information that belongs on the front of the box.

Epic's Tim Sweeney says AI tags make 'no sense' as 'nearly all future production' will be made with AI anyway

AI use in game development has been a divisive issue in recent times Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is well-known for his occasionally controversial stances, and the gaming chief has waded into the spotlight again with a comment on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in gaming - and not everyone will be pleased. Sweeney was replying to a comment on X saying that "Steam and all digital marketplaces need to drop the "Made with AI" label. It doesn't matter any more." In response, Sweeney concurred with the comment: "Agreed. The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production." Epic Games takes a notably different approach to rival online game storefront Steam on this point. Disclosures surrounding the use of AI in games development are not displayed in Epic's online store. On Steam, they're shown prominently, allowing customers to see whether artificial intelligence has been used in the creation of the game. On the Steam page for the popular ARC Raiders game, for instance, Steam displays the following: "The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this: 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." That statement is nowhere to be found on Epic Games' online store, however. Sweeney's comments might strike a chord (positive or negative) with gamers, and AI's role in game development has been a hot topic in recent times. ARC Raiders came in for much criticism for its use of AI-generated vocal lines, which critics said could encourage more developers to take jobs away from human creators. The matter that Sweeney was discussing - the "rights situation" - is particularly pertinent in gaming, where it can be unclear whether AI-generated content has infringed upon the rights of whoever created the elements that the AI was trained on. But Sweeney seems to be arguing that this is not a relevant concern in the gaming sphere, since "AI will be involved in nearly all future production" anyway. Whether he's right or wrong, plenty of games studios are either considering using AI during production or are already actively doing so. Yet there are many developers that have taken the opposite stance and have ruled out employing AI tools in their titles. This is clearly still a thorny issue in the industry, and with different retailers and developers taking different approaches, it's unlikely to be solved any time soon.

"AI will be involved in nearly all future production," says Epic Games boss, so having Steam games disclose whether they were built with AI makes "no sense"

Making developers disclose whether or not generative AI has been used during the making of a game, and how, "makes no sense", according to Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney. Sweeney made the remarks while responding to a post on X by former Unreal Engine developer Matt Workman (who, incidentally, uses generative AI in his motion capture work) who said: "Steam and all digital marketplaces need to drop the 'Made with AI' label. It doesn't matter any more." "Agreed," agreed Sweeney. "The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production." Sweeney then followed his comment a few hours' later with another post that read, "Why stop at AI use? We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses. Customers deserve to know lol." The 'made with AI' labels Sweeney and Workman are referring to are mandatory disclosures developers must make on Steam if their game contains traces of AI use. Take Arc Raiders' Steam page, for example: its "AI Generated Content Disclosure" explains that, "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." Arc Raiders' Epic Games Store page does not carry such a disclosure. Sweeney's comments have understandably provoked reaction across the gaming industry, with decorated indie developer Mike Bithell, of Bithell Games, posting on Bluesky: "I just find this really sad. Imagine being so certain that you need slop machines to do your work, that you convince yourself that EVERYBODY must need them," he wrote. Sweeney's declaration that "AI will be involved in nearly all future production" suggests Epic might be looking at using it across its colossal business - a business that includes Fortnite, the ubiquitous Unreal Engine, and the Steam-like Epic Games Store. And if it does, that decision will likely reverberate across the industry. Generative AI use in game development remains a contentious issue, as studios figure out how to potentially embrace this powerful technology without risking people's jobs - assuming that is even possible. South Korean company Krafton, which makes PUBG and Inzoi, has taken considerable flak for announcing it is now an "AI-first" company and offering voluntary redundancy to staff who don't want to be a part of that. PUBG creator Brendan Greene has distanced himself and his Krafton-backed studio PlayerUnknown Productions from that approach, saying "I've been really heartened to see the community revolt against AI stuff". Meanwhile, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the game director of The Witcher 3 and co-director of Cyberpunk 2077, believes games made with AI will have no soul, but also that there can be good uses of AI during development.

Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney doesn't like how Steam puts labels on games made with AI

TL;DR: Valve requires Steam games to disclose AI-generated content to address copyright concerns, though the label's relevance is debated as AI tools become standard in game development. Epic Games' CEO argues the tag may soon be obsolete, but public awareness and transparency remain key reasons for its continued use. Valve added tags and labels to Steam games that feature AI-generated content a while ago, and it also updated the submission process so developers can disclose the specific AI tools they used to help create their games. To get a good picture of how it looks, simply check out the ARC Raiders store page, which includes an "AI Generated Content Disclosure" section. Granted, the AI disclosure on the ARC Raiders store page is pretty generic and doesn't specifically mention the game's use of AI-generated voices, but it's there for those wanting to know which games have been developed with AI-based tools. Valve added the tag and requirement well over a year ago, which is a long time in the fast-moving AI space, and many are wondering if it's still required, as most creative and productivity apps have all been steadily adding AI tools and features. In a response to someone saying exactly that, Epic Games founder and CEO responded with an emphatic, "Agreed." Adding that putting an AI tag "makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production." He prefaced this by saying it's more relevant to art exhibits and "digital content licensing marketplaces" that deal with AI-generated images and video, but not games. Many of the responses to Tim Sweeney's post on X claim that he's being a little contradictory if you classify games as art, especially when it comes to concept art, character designs, textures, and other visual and aesthetic elements. And for that reason, the AI tag on Steam should remain in place for public awareness. Ultimately, it's the potential for copyright infringement that has been intrinsically linked to AI-generated art that led Valve to add the "AI Generated Content Disclosure" to games on Steam in the first place. And when looked through that lens, it makes sense. The counterargument that game engines and other apps key to the development process are adding AI tools for all manner of tasks shouldn't require a label, also makes sense. And if we get to the point where most major releases from 2026 onward feature some use of AI, no matter how small, the "AI Generated Content Disclosure" could end up on countless game pages on Steam. And with that, Tim made the follow-up joke/remark, "Why stop at AI use? We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses. Customers deserve to know lol."

'Why Stop at AI Use? We Could Have Mandatory Disclosures for What Shampoo Brand the Developer Uses' -- Epic Boss Tim Sweeney Says Steam Should Ditch Its AI Generated Content Disclosure - IGN

As the debate around the use of generative AI to build video games rages on, Tim Sweeney, boss of Fortnite developer Epic Games, has waded in to call on Valve to ditch its AI Generated Content Disclosure for Steam games. Valve's rules mean developers must disclose their use of AI-generated content on a game's Steam store page. For example, the Steam page for Embark Studios' Arc Raiders includes a note from the developer on how the game uses AI-generated content: "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." Activision's Call of Duty also includes an AI disclosure: "our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets." Sweeney, though, believes there's no point in having such disclosures because pretty much all video games will use AI. Responding to one X / Twitter user who called on Steam and all digital marketplaces to drop the "Made with AI" label because "it doesn't matter any more," Sweeney agreed, adding: "the AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production." Sweeney's tweet has sparked much debate about the rights and wrongs of Steam's policy here. While Sweeney may be right to say the use of generative AI during video game development is becoming more prevalent, some say removing AI disclosures would make it harder for some customers to make informed purchasing decisions. Activision was dragged into this debate recently when Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players complained about AI-generated images they had found across the game, primarily focusing on calling card images with a Studio Ghibli-esque styling, following a trend of AI-Ghibli images from earlier this year. A member of U.S. Congress subsequently called Activision out, demanding tighter regulation to "prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs." In the case of art -- particularly art sold in premium bundles or battle passes -- it seems reasonable to expect a generative AI disclosure to help inform customers about their purchasing decisions. But this is not backed up by law, and Valve is enforcing this policy because it believes it is the right thing to do. And it's worth point out that using generative AI to make in-game art and selling it to gamers is of course different to the use of AI in, say, NPC behavior or animation work -- something that has been a part of video game development for years. The ever chatty Tim Sweeney then used shampoo to reinforce his point in a response to another tweet -- although, as many have pointed out, letting customers know about shampoo isn't quite the same thing as, say, letting them know they've replaced artists with AI-generated slop trained on their work. It's no surprise to see Sweeney take this position on AI, given Fortnite's extensive use of the technology. Over the summer, Epic released AI Darth Vader into Fortnite and announced plans to let people create their own AI NPCs. The original Darth Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones, who died in September 2024 at the age of 93. The AI version of his voice, powered by Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs' Flash v2.5, was used with the Jones family's permission. Within an hour of the feature going live, Fortnite players manipulated Vader into saying the kind of things very much associated with the Dark Side of the Force, including swearing. Epic soon patched it out. Speaking to IGN in June, Sweeney predicted that small teams would soon be able to use AI prompts to make video games on the scale of Nintendo masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. "AI characters giving you the possibility of infinite dialogue with a really simple setup for creators means small teams will be able to create games with immense amounts of characters and immense and interactive worlds," he said. "What would it take for a 10-person team to build a game like Zelda Breath of the Wild in which the AI is just doing all the dialogue and you're just writing some character synopsis? That's totally going to be within reach over the next few years." If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.