Valve has relaxed its rules for disclosing generative AI use in Steam games

Valve has rewritten its guidelines for how developers must disclose the use of generative AI in their games when distributing via Steam, making the requirements clearer and more specific.

The details:

• As spotted by GameDiscoverCo's Simon Carless, Valve has altered its rules regarding confirming the use of generative AI in Steam games, with developers now only required to declare they have used the controversial technology if used to create marketing or in-game assets.
• Valve explained that "AI-powered tools," such as code helpers, are not covered by the guidelines, and that the focus is not on tools that improve development efficiency. "We are aware that many modern game development environments have AI-powered tools built into them," Valve wrote. "Efficiency gains through the use of these tools are not the focus of this section. Instead, it is concerned with the use of AI in creating content that ships with your game and is consumed by players. This includes content such as artwork, sound narrative, localization, etc."
• Since 2024, Valve has required developers to disclose on Steam whether generative AI was used in the creation of their games, with the disclosures appearing on the game's store page. Thousands of titles in 2025 disclosed on Steam that generative AI was used at some point in their creations, but it’s believed that the true number of games using the tech is much higher.
• Generative AI is still on the rise among game developers, with a majority of Japanese studios and several industry giants, such as EA, Activision Blizzard, Nexon, and Krafton, all using it to assist in the development of new projects. While some have restricted its use to creating concept art and ideas, others, such as Activision, have created in-game content that has been shipped to players, leading to backlash.