Steam’s Updated AI Policy Explained
Valve has quietly updated how game developers must report their use of artificial intelligence on Steam. This change is not just paperwork for studios. It affects how AI generated content appears in the games you play and how clearly it is labeled.
The update adjusts Steam’s AI disclosure form, which developers fill out when submitting a game. Rather than treating every tiny use of AI as something that needs to be reported, Valve is now focusing on the content that actually ends up in front of players.
This update also lands in the middle of a bigger debate. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney recently argued that storefronts like Steam should stop labeling games as using AI because he believes AI will be involved in almost all future production work. Others disagree, saying players deserve clear information about how much of a game’s art, writing, sound, and systems are created or influenced by generative AI.
What Developers Must Now Disclose
Valve’s revised form makes an important distinction between behind the scenes efficiency tools and actual game or marketing content that players see or hear.
According to the updated guidance, developers must disclose generative AI use when it involves:
- Marketing materials for the game that use AI generated images, video, or text
- Any AI generated content that ships with the game and is consumed by players
In practice, this means AI tools that help speed up internal work do not need to be reported. For example, if a studio uses a coding assistant to suggest snippets of code or uses a generative fill feature in an art tool for early concept art that never appears in the final game, that does not need to be disclosed.
On the other hand, if AI is used to generate final in game art, animations, character portraits, sound effects, music tracks, voice lines, or story text that you actually interact with while playing, then that must be labeled.
The form still splits AI usage into two big categories.
- Pre generated AI content This covers anything created with AI tools before you play. For example, AI written side quests, AI generated item descriptions, or AI assisted level art. This content is treated under the same rules as normal non AI content, meaning it must not break Steam’s general content policies.
- Live generated AI content This is content that is generated on the fly while the game is running. Think AI chat companions generating dialogue in real time or systems that create images or text based on player prompts during gameplay.
Games that use live AI have an extra hoop to jump through. Developers must explain what guardrails they have in place to stop the AI from producing illegal or otherwise unacceptable content. That might include filters, blocked words, or moderation systems that review generated content.
Why This Matters For PC Gamers
For players, this renewed focus on disclosure is about transparency and safety more than anything else. Many modern PC games are experimenting with AI, from smart NPC dialogue and procedural quests to AI generated art and music. Some players are excited, others are wary about quality, originality, copyright, and how studios treat human artists and writers.
By refining the form, Valve seems to be saying that it does not care if a studio uses AI for background productivity tasks. What it does care about is AI content that could affect your experience or cross legal and ethical lines once it appears on your screen.
Valve has also added a new tool directly for players. In the Steam overlay there is now a button that lets you report illegal content generated by a game that uses live AI systems. This is especially relevant because live generation can produce unpredictable results. As we have seen in other generative AI tools online, systems can sometimes create disturbing, offensive, or legally problematic material if they are not properly locked down.
With the reporting button built into Steam, players have a direct way to flag AI content that clearly goes too far. That feedback can then be handled by Valve and the developer, similar to how cheating or harassment reports are processed.
Long term, these kinds of policies are likely to shape how AI is used in PC gaming. Developers that want to build AI driven experiences will need to think carefully about content moderation and about being open with players regarding what is and is not AI generated. For gamers, clearer labels and better reporting tools mean you have more control over what you are comfortable with in your library.
While there is still debate in the industry about how visible AI labels should be, Valve’s current approach aims for a middle ground. It does not punish studios for using coding assistants or office productivity AI, but it does draw a line around the content you actually see, hear, and interact with on your PC. For anyone interested in the future of PC gaming and how AI will shape it, watching how these policies evolve on major platforms like Steam is going to be important.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/steam-updates-ai-disclosure-form-to-specify-that-its-focused-on-ai-generated-content-that-is-consumed-by-players-not-efficiency-tools-used-behind-the-scenes/
