Valve has ‘significantly’ rewritten Steam’s rules for how developers must disclose AI use
The rewritten rules clarify that ‘AI powered tools’ do not require a disclosure
Valve has significantly rewritten Steam’s guidelines for how developers must disclose the use of generative AI in their video games.
As spotted by GameDiscoverCo’s Simon Carless, Valve has made it clearer that ‘AI-powered tools’ such as code helpers do not require a disclosure, and that “efficiency gains through the use of [AI-powered dev tools] is not the focus” of its efforts.
The first of the two types of AI use that developers will have to disclose is “AI to generate content for the game”, whether that is within the game, on its store page, or in marketing materials.
The second is “AI content generated during gameplay” and whether the game in question generates AI-created “images, audio, text, and other content”.
Since 2024, Valve has required developers to disclose on Steam whether generative AI was used in the creation of their games. This then appears on the game’s store page in a section called ‘AI Generated Content Disclosure’.
In July 2025, an analysis found that nearly 8,000 titles released on Steam in the first six months of 2025 had disclosed the use of generative AI, compared to around 1,000 during the entirety of 2024.
However, although Steam requires games that use generative AI in their development to disclose the use, such disclosures are voluntary, so the actual number of games created using GenAI is likely higher than the 8,000 figure.
According to last year’s Game Developers Conference survey, a majority (52%) of developers reported working at companies that utilize generative AI tools.
However, as usage has gone up, curiosity has gone down. 9% of developers surveyed said their companies were interested in generative AI tools, down from 15% last year. 27% said their companies had no interest in using them, a 9-point increase from 2024.
