Tim Sweeney Calls Steam's AI Disclosures "Abhorrent" in Fresh Attack on Valve

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has again gone after Valve over Steam's requirement that developers disclose generative AI use, calling the policy "abhorrent." The comment lands in a month when Epic has been unusually loud about AI in game development, and while Steam is dealing with a wave of AI-assisted games in its latest Next Fest.

"Forcing developers to write a political statement to be used against them by the hate mob they're helping organize is abhorrent," Sweeney says. He posted it as a reply to a comment from Matt Workman, who lists himself as working in "Content & Vibes" at generative media company Fal. Workman wrote that "the premise of an AI Generated Content Disclosure is ABSURD in 2026, truly embarrassing [for] Valve and Steam."

What the disclosures look like

Steam requires developers who use generative AI to describe how they used it on the store page. The disclosure for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, for example, reads: "Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets."

Sweeney has pushed against this for months. In November 2025 he called Valve's approach nonsensical in a world where "AI will be involved in nearly all future production." In June he compared the labels to a "Scarlet Letter" and said they make it "much, much, much harder for a game developer to have a chance of success."

Epic's own AI push

Epic has leaned into the technology this month. Last week the company said of its reworked PC storefront: "We vibe coded the Epic Games Launcher." Yesterday it announced an Unreal Engine game jam that initially required AI usage and promised unlimited agentic support. Epic has since walked that back, and the jam now says, "you can use as little or as much AI as you want."

Steam's side of things

Meanwhile, the latest Steam Next Fest demo showcase featured more AI-aided games than ever, along with nearly double the total demo volume of the June 2026 event. Once Steam's recommendation algorithms kicked in, the lowest-effort AI entries sank to the bottom of the charts, though the influx has made game stores more cluttered. Some people are also using AI to clone trending games within days of release, and some developers have canceled their own demos to make copying harder.

Sweeney's comments drew two familiar responses in the replies: if AI is so useful, why hide it, and if the answer is that some people dislike it, why do they?

Criticism of AI in games centers on several issues:

• Legal risk: questions around the material used to train the tools.
• Creative cost: concern that AI can hollow out essential parts of the process.
• Ethics: unresolved environmental impacts and training data taken without permission.
• Economics: an industry built on speculative valuations that has pushed up hardware costs.

Most of the pushback targets generated art, music, and similar assets. Programming assistance tends to meet less resistance, and AI is generally more accepted in Asian game markets than in the West, though many studios oppose it everywhere. Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has spoken favorably about AI in programming, and the Deadlock team is also using it.

Valve's own disclosure terms take a measured tone: "As an aside, AI in games is rapidly evolving and we want to get it right. Many artists and creators are rightfully concerned about exploitation and misuse. But we also realize that technology and tools are going to change a bunch over the years, and there are lots of creative game developers out there figuring out ways to ethically use AI to make great entertainment. If you plan to release a product on Steam and you think we're overlooking something important in regard to AI, we'd love to hear from you."

Valve has not responded to Sweeney's latest remarks, and the disclosure requirement remains in place.