Valve dev counters calls to scrap Steam AI disclosures, says it's a "technology relying on cultural laundering, IP infringement, and slopification"

Another week, another flashpoint in the debate around the use of AI in game development. This time, it was Epic Games CEO and Fortnite boss Tim Sweeney who created the latest spark, claiming that AI disclosures like the ones found on Steam store pages make "no sense," his argument being that everyone will have to 'fess up to using it eventually as AI will become "involved in nearly all future production." A Valve developer has now had their say in a back-and-forth with the X user that Sweeney initially backed with his remarks, saying that "the only [people] afraid of this are the ones that know their product is low effort."

Currently, any game that used generative AI in the development process must disclose it on its Steam page. Recent big names to feature an AI disclosure include Arc Raiders for its robots' movement animations and text-to-speech system, and Call of Duty Black Ops 7, which is using AI tools to help "empower" its developers. That's two of this year's biggest new multiplayer games adopting the technology, and I'm confident we'll see more major releases post similar disclosures in 2026.

Ayi Sanchez, a Valve artist who had a hand in Counter-Strike 2's remake of Train last year, has come to the defence of AI disclosures. Responding to Matt Workman on X - whose post about Steam needing to "drop the 'Made with AI' label" originally caught Sweeney's attention - Sanchez expresses his disagreement.

"This is like saying food products shouldn't have their ingredients list," they say. "Consumers should have the information to decide if they want to buy something or not depending on its content. The only ppl afraid of this are the ones that know their product is low effort."

Workman, who runs a YouTube channel focused on Unreal Engine cinematography, attempts to discredit the comparison by saying that products such as food and appliances have the potential to cause harm, whereas media made by AI doesn't. A somewhat valid observation, but it's the ethics that concern Sanchez.

"Would love to know if your clothes or coffee are produced using child labor? Or if the materials are organically produced? Or if your car engine has a certain type of technicalities? That should be visible to everyone, so consumers can make an educated choice, not an opaque one."

In a final message to Workman, the Valve dev says that we shouldn't "excuse a technology [relying] on cultural laundering, IP infringement and slopification." Whew. "I know I am not alone thinking that creation is a matter of creators, not prompt engineers," Sanchez adds. "Educated consumers will pick an original over counterfeit."

It's worth noting, of course, that Sanchez doesn't speak for all of Valve here. But his views as an artist at the company certainly speak volumes. I for one think that artificial intelligence has its uses, but loathe the idea of mechanics, storylines, and visual and audio assets being generated by gen-AI. As a result, Steam's disclosures are a valuable tool for me as the lines between human and AI creations continue to blur.