AI disclosure, copyright and store rules
Steam asks developers to disclose generative AI in the Steamworks Content Survey. Valve's documentation says AI helpers built into development tools aren't the concern; the survey targets AI-made material that players see or hear in the shipped game, from art and audio to story and translations. Content made during development counts as Pre-Generated. Content made while the game runs is Live-Generated, and developers must also explain how they stop it producing illegal material. PC Gamer reported the form's rewording on January 16, 2026.
A SteamDB snapshot reported by NeoTeo found that 2,628 of 7,217 October Next Fest listings (36.4%) carried the "AI Content Disclosed" label, while GamingOnLinux, using SteamDB's event page, counted at least 1,054 of 7,164 demos with a notice as the event went live (our story).
Copyright is the other issue. Kotaku reported that Epic and Microsoft filed DMCA notices against agent-built browser ports of Fortnite, Minecraft, Halo and Call of Duty (our story). Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) wrote on X on October 27 that Epic bars AI training on Unreal Engine and MetaHuman outputs for now but is working to drop that rule. Decomp.dev's creator, @encounter, shut the site's project index, writing that AI misuse had broken the decompilation community, VGC reported (our story). Digital Sun moved ReVamp's first playtest from Steam to Discord over cloning fears, Kotaku reported (our story).
What to watch: on October 27, Marc Wilkinson said many Valve staff are working on the flood of low-quality games, Inven Global and Kotaku reported.
Sources
Sources for the introduction above.
- Valve (Steamworks documentation): Content Survey: Generative Artificial Intelligence Content
- PC Gamer (Andy Chalk): Steam updates AI disclosure form to specify that it's focused on AI-generated content that is 'consumed by players'
- NeoTeo: SteamDB snapshot puts Steam Next Fest's AI disclosure count at 2,628
- GamingOnLinux (Liam Squires-Hand): Steam Next Fest Oct 2026 is live with thousands of demos
- Kotaku (Lewis Parker): Now That The Shoe Is On The Other Foot, Microsoft And Epic Games Suddenly Agree That AI Is Theft
- Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) on X: Reply on Epic's AI training restriction
- decomp.dev (@encounter): Sunsetting decomp.dev
- VGC: One of the biggest game decompilation sites is closing because AI has 'broken the community aspect'
- Kotaku (John Walker): AI Cloning Threatens To End Public Playtests For Video Games
- Digital Sun (@DigitalSunGames) on X: ReVamp playtest update
- Inven Global: Developers Fear AI Slop and Clones — Valve Answers Directly
- Kotaku (John Walker): Valve Knows Steam Has An AI Slop Problem And Has A 'Significant Number Of People' Working On It
Written in our own words; quotes are marked and credited. How we report
