Valve Revamps AI Guidelines to Embrace AI-Driven Tools

Valve has updated its AI-disclosure guidelines, eliminating the requirement for studios to reveal whether AI-powered tools were used in game development, while shifting the focus to AI-generated assets. This change, highlighted by Simon Carless on LinkedIn, indicates that Valve is less concerned about the use of AI tools that aid in development, emphasizing that “Efficiency gains through the use of [AI-powered dev tools] is not the focus of this section.” These tools can range from AI-generated meeting transcripts to coding assistants that are now common in programming environments.

Valve’s disclosure policy aims to inform players when AI is involved in creating content, whether for marketing, conceptual assets, or in-game elements that players will engage with. Developers can specify which assets are AI-generated and indicate, through a simple checkbox, whether players will interact with this content during gameplay, including images, audio, or other types. This marks the first major revision to Valve’s AI disclosure rules since they were introduced in 2024, coinciding with the rise of generative AI in game development.

While many games on Steam disclose AI usage, participation in this policy remains voluntary and is not enforced by Valve’s moderation, which means some developers may choose not to include this information on their store pages. This approach contrasts with rival storefronts like the Epic Games Store, where CEO Tim Sweeney recently remarked that such disclosures “make no sense” for storefronts. The conversation around AI continues to evolve, especially following the success of titles like Arc Raiders, which sparked discussions about AI-generated audio. Meanwhile, Larian Studios faced backlash after its CEO mentioned plans to use generative AI in the conceptual phases of their next game, Divinity. The studio later clarified that this would not be the case, although they remain open to exploring these technologies in the future.