Epic CEO says AI disclosures like Steam's make "no sense" because AI will be involved in "nearly all" future game development

If I had a nickel for every time a tech oligarch made a comment that was more than a tad out of touch, I'd probably have enough in the bank to retire and live out my days rescuing otters. Adding another coin to the pot, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has shared his latest musings on the place of AI disclosure tags in gaming marketplaces such as Steam. Unsurprisingly, he reckons it's time for them to go.

I think it's fair to say that Sweeney is a bit of a utopianist when it comes to AI. Speaking to IGN back in June, the Epic boss spoke on its potential to enable smaller dev teams to create sprawling worlds like Zelda Breath of the Wild's Hyrule. A couple of weeks ago, he waded in on the Arc Raiders discourse, stating optimistically via X that, "When tech increases productivity, competition leads to building better games rather than employing fewer people."

On November 13, cinematic designer Matt Workman posted on X that, "Steam and all digital marketplaces need to drop the 'Made with AI' label. It doesn't matter any more." Responding in agreement today, Sweeney says: "It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production."

Now, I don't believe there's anything inherently wrong with believing in the potential for new technology as a force of creative enablement; I'm not that much of a luddite. However, the reality, something Sweeney himself admitted in the IGN interview has "tainted" AI's reputation, is that it is oftentimes used as a means of creative replacement. A very real element of shareholder capitalism is that infinite growth trumps all; this is observable across industries, and is only getting worse with each passing year. We have already seen thousands of layoffs across the gaming sector from the likes of King and Ubisoft that have been attributed to the introduction of AI. Generative AI, specifically, has often found itself in the firing line for ripping from the real work its models are based on - Black Ops 7's shameless calling cards are one such example.

The reality, friends, is that AI is currently being used at all levels of the industry in the most parasitic ways possible, not for the love of the game, but to chase the almighty dollar. I do not foresee that changing any time soon; there is no separating the art from the artificial artist here.

Players and developers have been fervent in their response to this growing threat, and transparency has become a progressively more important factor when it comes to choosing whether to consume a piece of media. Within the past couple of weeks alone, we've reported on how Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser's new studio, Absurd Ventures, is "dabbling in AI," how Brendan 'PLAYERUNKNOWN' Greene is "heartened" to see players fighting back against GenAI, and how The Outer Worlds 2 didn't use the tech "at all" throughout development.

Last year, Steam announced its new guidelines regarding AI content, introducing a tagging system that required developers to disclose not only if AI had been used in some capacity throughout development, but also whether its usage was pre-generated or live-generated in nature. Though it's a self-reporting system, the uptake has been solid. In July, a report from Totally Human revealed that nearly 8,000 Steam games were using GenAI in some capacity, though the real number is likely higher. Last month, Ben couldn't hide his disappointment over the fact that over 500 Steam Next Fest demos were utilizing the tech. Say it with me: 'disclosure and transparency are important.'

I can't disagree that AI will continue to expand, that much is clear from the current trends. However, if players don't want to cough up their hard-earned cash for artistically bankrupt slop, then they should have every forewarning. Yes, I am aware that 'AI' is a very broad umbrella term, with deep roots in gaming history, but if anything that means the goalposts need to be brought closer together, homing in on and rooting out those egregious cases where creatives have been shunted aside in the pursuit of yet another dollar saved.