Valve appears to be redefining Steam’s guidelines for disclosing the use of artificial intelligence in game development. The company has clarified that using AI-powered tools to speed up the game development process does not require developers to provide AI disclosures on their games’ Steam pages. Valve explains that the focus is on disclosing the AI-generated content in the game.
GameDiscoverCo’s Simon Carless (via VGC ) discovered a change in Valve’s AI disclosure guidelines that require studios to detail the use of AI on their games’ Steam pages. PC game storefronts now acknowledge that artificial intelligence tools may be built into many game development processes and therefore do not need to be disclosed.
“We know that many modern game development environments have AI-driven tools built into them. Improving efficiency through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section,” reads the developer’s generative AI disclosure form, as seen in a screenshot posted by Carless on LinkedIn.
“Instead, it focuses on using artificial intelligence to create content that comes with the game and is consumed by players. This includes content such as artwork, sound, narrative, localization, and more,” the form reads.
What developers need to disclose
Developers are still required to disclose the use of generative AI to generate content (pre-rendered or live-generated) in games, Steam store pages, Steam community properties, or marketing materials.
Just like earlier versions of the form, developers are asked to describe their use of generative AI in a text box. News from the studio will appear in the “About this game” section of the game’s Steam store page.
Steam also requires developers to disclose whether their games use artificial intelligence to generate content or code during gameplay.
The guidance does not eliminate AI disclosures, but it clarifies the difference between using AI-powered tools to aid or speed up various processes of game development, and including AI-generated assets in games, store pages, or marketing materials.
The AI ​​disclosure section on the Steam store page of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7”
Generative AI in game development
Valve’s tweaks to its AI disclosure guidelines come at a time when artificial intelligence in game development has become a hot topic. While the use of generative AI when creating game assets, concept art, text, or other content is frowned upon, and AI-generated content is often labeled “sloppy” by players, some developers admit to using the technology to speed up development times and reduce development costs.
Recently, Larian Studios faced backlash after confirming its use of artificial intelligence in the game’s development process, including concept art. Later, the studio clarified that it would not use any GenAI art in its next game, Divinity.
“I know there’s been a lot of discussion about our use of AI tools as part of concept art exploration. We’ve said that this doesn’t mean the actual concept art is generated by AI, but we know it can cause confusion. So to make sure there’s no doubt, we’ve decided to avoid using genAI tools during the concept art development process. This way there’s no discussion of the origins of the art,” Larian CEO Swen Vincke confirmed in a Reddit AMA earlier this month.
But Vincke says AI can help other parts of the studio. The Larian boss said the company will use artificial intelligence tools to help “refine ideas faster” and deliver “higher quality games.”
In another example, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Game of the Year award at the Independent Games Awards was revoked due to Sandfall Interactive’s use of generative artificial intelligence during development. The French developer later clarified that there were no assets created by Al in the game. Sandfall explains that due to an oversight, the game launched with some temporary AI-generated placeholder textures, but it was fixed within five days.
Starting in 2024, Steam will require developers to provide AI disclosures on their game store pages. For example, on Arc Raiders’ Steam page, the AI-generated content disclosure section reads: “During development, 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 reads: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some game assets.”
Arc Raiders and Black Ops 7 have both been criticized by players for their use of AI-generated voice and artwork respectively.
However, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney believes that the AI ​​label on game storefronts is “meaningless.” In November, Sweeney said AI would be involved in nearly all future game production, making the AI ​​reveal irrelevant.
Get the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show with technology shout in our CES 2026 hub.
