s&box Update Deters Generic AI Content by Lowering Its Ranking

When Facepunch Studios launched s&box, a game creation platform seen as a spiritual successor to Garry’s Mod, at the end of April, it quickly garnered a “Mixed” rating on Steam, with around 45 percent of reviews being positive. Many players expressed frustration over the overwhelming amount of user-generated AI content cluttering the game’s discovery tab, prompting Facepunch Studios to take action with the latest update.

Releasing a user-generated content game like s&box amid the surge of AI-generated material was always going to be challenging. Recent comments from the developers indicate they’ve been somewhat caught off guard by the flood of low-quality content entering the game. Update 26.05.13 aims to address this issue, as Garry Newman announced that the team has introduced new tools to help “identify and discourage the AI Slop.”

“We’re penalizing AI thumbnails – if your game looks like generic content, it’ll rank lower,” Newman stated. “Our moderators can now mark packages with AI thumbnails, which will reduce their visibility in lists and searches. I understand the appeal of using AI for quick thumbnail generation, but it leads to everything looking the same. So we’re actively discouraging it.”

While some users have pointed out that discouraging AI tools is a temporary fix, outright banning them would be a more effective solution. Newman has previously acknowledged that while Facepunch Studios sees generative AI as a “growing problem in every creative outlet,” they also recognize its value as a learning and productivity tool.

It seems that banning AI usage in s&box isn’t on the table for Facepunch Studios. Nonetheless, these new measures appear to be a positive step for the future of s&box, even as it faces the challenge of competing with its predecessor, Garry’s Mod, after a rocky start.