Valve updates Steam AI disclosure policy to focus on player-facing content, not dev tools

Valve amends AI disclosure policy but still stresses players need to be informed if genAI is used

"Efficiency gains through the use of [AI-powered] tools is not the focus." Valve has amended its guidance on AI disclosure and clarified that while developers using "AI-powered tools" for "efficiency gains" is not the focus of its policy, they must still disclose if generative AI is used in their games. Now, as spotted by GameDiscoverCo, Valve has now amended its AI policy, making it clearer that studios that use "AI powered tools" such as code helpers may not have to disclose if there are no genAI assets like music, artwork, narrative design, or localisation in the content that "ships with [their] game". "We are aware that many modern games development environments have AI powered tools built into them," the developer disclosure page now reads. "Efficiency gains through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section. 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, localisation, etc." Developers are then asked to indicate Yes or No to the question: "Does this game use generative artificial intelligence to generate content for the game, either pre-rendered or live-generated? This includes the game itself, the store page, and any Steam community assets or marketing materials." Quite what qualifies as an "efficiency gain" and what doesn't remains to be seen, but ultimately, game makers publishing on Steam are still required to tell players if they use AI to generate any content, or its Steam-flavoured marketing materials. "This feels like a really thoughtful middle ground that actually makes sense for developers," said one commenter. "The way they've separated efficiency tools from actual content generation shows they understand how teams actually work. It's refreshing to see a platform think through the nuances instead of just blanket policies, and putting players first in these decisions feels like the right call." Towards the end of last year, Epic Games' Tim Sweeney criticised Valve's requirement to disclose generative AI, saying "Steam and all digital marketplaces need to drop the 'Made with AI' label. It doesn't matter any more."

Steam updates AI disclosure form to specify that it's focused on AI-generated content that is 'consumed by players,' not efficiency tools used behind the scenes

The tweak addresses the fact that generative AI tools have been stuffed into just about every piece of software professionals use. Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney recently said digital storefronts like Steam should stop using AI disclosure labels because "AI will be involved in nearly all future production" anyway. PC Gamer's Tyler Wilde disagreed (as do I), but he also noted that such disclosures can be tricky for developers: "Does it count if you used Photoshop's generative fill tool while making concept art that was never intended for the public eye? Or if you used Claude to generate a few code snippets? Or if someone in marketing used ChatGPT to make a spreadsheet?" It seems that Valve has also been contemplating these questions and has made a tweak to its AI disclosure form for developers. In its submission form, Valve now specifies that game publishers must disclose pre-made generative AI assets only when used in marketing materials or content that "ships with your game, and is consumed by players." That's via a screenshot of the form shared by Simon Carless' GameDiscoverCo. In other words, Steam's disclosure requirement is not concerned with generative AI tools used behind the scenes for efficiency gains (presumably including coding helpers) or office work, but with things like final art, sound, and writing. The AI disclosure form otherwise looks consistent with the policy Valve detailed back in 2024, when it first introduced its rules around generative AI. The form breaks AI usage down into two categories: Pre-generated, which is any in-game content "created with the help of AI tools," and live-generated, covering anything created via AI systems while the game in question is running. Pre-generated content is subject to the same rules as non-AI content, while developers of games making use of live-generated content must also lay out "what kind of guardrails you're putting on your AI to ensure it's not generating illegal content." Interestingly, Steam just rewrote - but did NOT remove - its 'does your game have AI in it?' dev disclosure form. Valve's making it clearer the 'AI powered tools' (like code helpers) don't need citing - "Efficiency gains through the use of [AI powered dev tools] is not the focus of this section." -- @gamediscoverco.bsky.social ( @gamediscoverco.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T22:51:03.860Z You might not have noticed it, but Valve added a button to the Steam overlay that allows users to report illegal content generated by games with live-generation AI. Given what we've seen tumble out of generative AI systems recently, that's probably a good idea.

Valve changes AI disclosure guidelines, 'AI powered tools' are now exempt

TL;DR: Valve updated its Steam developer guidelines to require AI disclosure when generative AI is used to create game content, marketing materials, or in-game elements like images, audio, and text. Code-assisting AI tools do not require disclaimers, placing responsibility on players to assess AI content transparency. Valve has updated its guidelines for developers publishing on the popular PC platform, specifically addressing AI disclosure and requiring developers to notify gamers if AI was used throughout development. The changes were spotted by Simon Carless, the founder of GameDiscoverCo, which he outlined in a new report. According to Valve, developers aren't required to publish an AI disclaimer if AI-powered tools were used to help create the game. This is specifically in relation to code-aiding software. However, when it comes to generative AI, Valve requires developers to provide a disclaimer if generative AI was used to generate content for the game. This requirement also covers any marketing material for the game and the Steam landing page for the title. Additionally, Valve requires developers to add a disclaimer if the title has "AI content generated during gameplay," which covers "images, audio, text, and other content." Ultimately, it will be up to the players to determine if AI content disclaimers are warranted or not, especially considering the ubiquitous nature of AI-powered tools assisting all kinds of software engineers, not just game developers.

Valve Changes Steam's AI Disclosure Rules for Game Developers

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has said that AI labels on Steam make "no sense" 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.

Valve softens Steam AI disclosure to distinguish "efficiency gains" from "the use of AI in creating content that is shipped with your game"

As generative AI becomes increasingly commonplace in game development, Valve created a Steam tag to label any releases that use such tech. In a new wrinkle, this labelling now pertains more explicitly to public assets, distinguishing them from other uses of the tools. Simon Carless of GameDiscoverCo noticed the discrepancy in Steam's backend. There have been some alterations to the questions asked. "Does this game use generative artificial intelligence to generate content for the game, either pre-rendered or live-rendered?" read the original text. "This includes the game itself, the storepage, and any Steam community assets or marketing materials." This was followed by checkboxes specifically for pre-rendered and live-rendered, and a text box to provide further details. All cut and dry and understandable. The questioning has since been altered for wiggle room in terms of any given studio's pipeline. "Efficiency gains through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section," the page currently reads. "Instead, it is concerned with the use of AI in creating content that is shipped with your game, and is consumed by players." From then on, the original phrasing is largely intact. It seems that Valve is attempting to focus on what tags help consumers understand what they're buying, while making allowances for developers who are using AI in places away from players. There's been discussion around utilizing bots to assist in the concept phase. Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios mentioned doing so for visuals and flavor text, though the latter seems to have since been thrown out for being fundamentally sub-standard. Valve's introduction of AI tags was itself controversial, prompting comments from Epic's Tim Sweeney and others about what's ultimately useful to users. I doubt the custodians of PC's biggest marketplace have seen the end of the AI conversation, nor will this be the last modification made to its criteria around such in-game development.