Technology
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Valve Relaxes AI Disclosure Rules for Steam Developers
GamesIndustry.biz
January 19, 2026•3 days ago

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Valve has updated its AI disclosure policy for Steam, easing requirements for developers. They now only need to disclose AI use if it generates game assets or marketing materials. The company has relaxed rules on disclosing AI used for development efficiency. This change reflects ongoing industry discussions about AI in game creation.
PC giant Valve has amended its AI disclosure policy on Steam, now requiring developers to only say if they are using the technology in certain instances.
As spotted by GameDiscoverCo's Simon Carless, developers are now only required to say whether they are using the technology if they are using it to generate content. That can be assets that appear in game or within marketing; companies are asked to describe what has been created in a text description.
Valve also asks that developers disclose if their game generates AI content itself.
The area where Valve is being more lenient is in how the technology is used in the development process. While the company still requires studios to say whether AI is used in asset creation, the PC giant is no longer required them to disclose whether the technology has been used for "efficiency gains".
"We are aware that many modern games development environments have AI powered tools built into them," Valve wrote on the updated AI disclosure page.
"Efficiency gains through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section. Instead, it is concerned with the use of AI in creating content that ships with your game, and is consumed by players. This includes content such as artwork, sound narrative, localisation, etc."
These changes to Valve's policies come amid an industry-wide discussion over the use of artificial intelligence in game development, which is becoming more common. Major companies such as Nexon and Krafton have fully embraced generative AI in game creation.
For Valve's part, the company has allowed "the vast majority of games" using AI on its Steam platform since January 2024, but has required that developers disclose how the technology is used. Previously, the Bellvue-based giant was less tolerant of the technology.
At the end of 2025, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney argued that platforms like Steam should not be labelling projects created using AI, saying this made "no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production".
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