Why Steam’s Clarified AI Policy Is a Step Forward for Game Development

I want to talk about a controversial topic: the use of AI in game development.

Until recently, Steam had a policy requiring games that used AI to include a disclaimer. The problem was that it was never very clear what actually counted as AI usage. The definitions were vague, and that lack of clarity created confusion across the industry.

A couple of days ago, Steam finally clarified its position. Under the updated policy, developers must disclose AI usage on their Steam store page when AI is involved in creating something that directly affects the player’s experience. This includes things like visible artwork, quests written by AI, or any other content the player can see or interact with.

Naturally, this sparked a lot of discussion.

Because I work in the technology field, I understand that AI today supports far more than just content creation. It helps with coding, documentation, testing, and many internal processes. This raised an important question. If a developer uses AI to help write code, or to generate internal documentation, should that also require disclosure on Steam?

This uncertainty became controversial because, taken too far, it would mean that almost every game would need to declare AI usage. We already saw a real example of this with Expedition 33 at The Awards, where the game was disqualified for using an AI generated placeholder asset that was later removed. That situation caused a huge backlash.

Around the same time, the president of Larian Studios, the company behind Baldur’s Gate, mentioned that they were using AI internally, and the reaction was extremely negative. Personally, I do not see AI usage as a problem. I believe AI will assist developers in many ways and make certain aspects of game development significantly easier.

AI can help with coding, support QA teams, and automate tests to identify bugs. These are practical, behind-the-scenes applications that improve quality without affecting the artistic core of a game. Despite that, there is still a strong sentiment among some players that if a game used AI, then it must be bad, and that developers should never touch AI at all. I strongly disagree with that view.

AI is going to be present in virtually all games moving forward. Code assistance alone is already standard. Most modern text editors and IDEs include AI features by default. This has become a normal part of software development.

What Steam has done with this policy change is draw a clearer and more reasonable line. Disclosure is now focused on cases where players may genuinely feel disappointed or misled, especially when AI is used to create art or narrative content. In those cases, it is understandable to feel that something human or artistic may be lost.

From now on, it will be much easier to visit a game’s Steam page and understand whether AI is being used in content players actually see and interact with, rather than in internal development processes. Overall, I see this change as a positive step. It gives players more clarity around questionable uses of AI while still leaving room for developers to use it responsibly where it makes sense. AI will be everywhere. It will be nearly impossible to imagine game development without it, and Steam’s clearer guidelines on what must be disclosed will ultimately benefit players by setting more transparent expectations.