Valve has refreshed its Steam AI policy, tightening the focus on transparency around AI-generated content. Developers must now clearly disclose when AI is used to create in-game or marketing assets, and when games generate AI content at runtime. Meanwhile, the platform is easing off on disclosures around efficiency tools used behind the scenes. For players, that means clearer labeling; for developers, more specific reporting and fewer blanket declarations.
The big picture Steam’s updated approach zeroes in on what players actually see and hear. If AI produced something that ships with your game or appears on your store page, Valve wants you to say so and describe it. If your game generates content on the fly using AI, that must also be disclosed. But if your team uses AI-driven tools purely to speed up development, with no direct AI-created assets shipping to players, those efficiency gains no longer need to be flagged.
What changed and why it matters
- Disclose generated content: If AI generated artwork, music, voice, narrative, localization, UI elements, or other assets in your shipped build or marketing materials, you need to identify that and provide a short description.
- Disclose runtime generation: If your game itself creates new content using AI during play, that must be noted as well, so players know what to expect.
- No longer disclose generic efficiency: Using AI to draft internal docs, help with code suggestions, or accelerate pipelines without shipping AI-made assets is not the focus of this policy.
This framing is Valve’s way of separating the tools developers use from the content players consume. It puts the emphasis where it counts for consumers: clarity about the nature and origin of the things they’re actually interacting with.
What counts as generated content on Steam Think of it as anything AI helped create that a player could encounter or a potential buyer could see on your store page:
- Visuals: Concept art turned into final textures or sprites, character portraits, environment pieces, UI icons, or key art on your store page.
- Audio: Voiceover generated or cloned with AI, sound effects synthesized by models, AI-assisted music compositions that make it into the shipped build.
- Writing: Dialogue, quest text, item descriptions, tutorials, or narrative beats substantially authored by a generative system.
- Localization: Translations or cultural adaptation performed by AI models that ship without full human reauthoring.
- Gameplay content: Procedural content that specifically uses AI generation models to create assets, levels, or events in real time.
If AI touched the final asset in a meaningful way and that asset ships, it is safer to disclose.
What you no longer need to sweat Valve acknowledges that modern dev stacks are saturated with AI-powered helpers. Code completion, linting with AI hints, texture upscaling during iteration, or using AI tools for QA triage or bug summaries are not the focus of this policy unless those tools directly produce content that ships. The goal is to avoid drowning players in irrelevant implementation details while ensuring the origins of visible, audible, or readable content are transparent.
Developer checklist for compliance
- Inventory your assets: Identify any shipped or store-page assets that were generated or heavily transformed by AI tools.
- Mark runtime systems: If your game generates content using AI at runtime, document how and what players can expect.
- Write clear descriptions: Provide concise, player-friendly summaries for the disclosure fields. Avoid jargon and explain the impact.
- Confirm human review: If AI-created elements were edited, QA’d, or reauthored by humans, say so in your description to set expectations.
- Update your pipeline: Add a tag or metadata field for AI provenance in your asset tracker so disclosures stay accurate across patches.
- Think marketing too: Remember that promotional screenshots, trailers, key art, and copy on your store page count as content that requires disclosure if AI-generated.
- Revisit at major updates: Each time you push a content drop or overhaul, re-check the list and refresh your disclosures.
What this means for players For players, this should translate into clearer store listings and better communication about how a game was made. If you’re cautious about AI voiceover or prefer hand-authored narrative, disclosures give you the information you need. If you’re excited by dynamic, AI-driven content systems, you’ll know where to find them. Either way, transparency builds trust and reduces the guesswork around what AI is actually doing in your library.
For studios balancing craft and scale This policy threads a needle many teams are already grappling with: how to harness AI for velocity without misrepresenting the creative process. It encourages developers to be explicit about the parts of their game that are AI-made, while not penalizing everyday pipeline optimizations. Studios that adopt a provenance-first mindset will likely find compliance straightforward and, in the long run, beneficial to community relations.
The industry context Across PC development, AI has been moving from experiment to everyday tool. Since early 2024, Steam has allowed the majority of AI-using games onto the platform while asking for clarity on usage. Public debate has continued over whether storefronts should label AI involvement at all, especially as AI tools become ubiquitous in content pipelines. We are also seeing more studios openly acknowledge AI in development notes and patch updates, and the share of games disclosing some AI usage has been rising year over year.
What to watch next
- Label placement and visibility: Expect ongoing iteration on how disclosures surface on store pages and within the client.
- Community sentiment: Player feedback may drive more granular disclosures, such as splitting out voice, art, and writing.
- Legal and licensing: As rights conversations evolve, teams may need to detail sources or training data provenance for certain models.
- Mod and UGC ecosystems: If games enable AI-powered creation tools for players, studios will need clear messaging and moderation plans.
Final thoughts Valve’s update strikes a pragmatic balance: spotlight the content that reaches players and keep the paperwork proportional to player impact. For developers, the way forward is simple—track what AI makes, say what it is, and be consistent. For players, you get more context without the noise of behind-the-scenes tooling. Transparency is rarely the wrong call, and in a fast-moving space like AI in games, it is the best way to keep trust intact while the tech evolves.
