Steam-owner Valve says it’s not discouraging games with AI-generated content

Steam-owner Valve on Monday rejected the claims that it blocks AI-powered titles from its online game distribution service Steam.

The rumors that Valve is blocking AI-generated content first surfaced when a developer of an AI game shared a post on Reddit a month ago, titled ‘’Valve is not willing to publish games with AI generated content anymore’’. Other developers also shared similar stories, expressing their concerns that they wouldn’t be able to launch their products on the platform because of the company’s view.

In a statement to GamesIndustry.Biz, a spokesperson said that the game rejections resulted from the company’s current copyright law and policies, not an added layer of its opinion on aI-generated content. However, the company is ‘’working through how to integrate it into already-existing review policies’’.

Meanwhile, the company also mentioned the “legal uncertainty relating to data used to train AI models’’, highlighting that it’s the developer’s responsibility to ‘’have the appropriate rights to ship their game’’.

Also Read: The 23 Best Free Games on Steam

“We are continuing to learn about AI, the ways it can be used in game development, and how to factor it in to our process for reviewing games submitted for distribution on Steam,’’ the company spokesperson said. ‘’Our priority, as always, is to try to ship as many of the titles we receive as we can. The introduction of AI can sometimes make it harder to show a developer has sufficient rights in using AI to create assets, including images, text, and music. In particular, there is some legal uncertainty relating to data used to train AI models. It is the developer’s responsibility to make sure they have the appropriate rights to ship their game.’’

“We know it is a constantly evolving tech, and our goal is not to discourage the use of it on Steam; instead, we’re working through how to integrate it into our already-existing review policies,’’ they added. ‘’Stated plainly, our review process is a reflection of current copyright law and policies, not an added layer of our opinion. As these laws and policies evolve over time, so will our process.’’