With more and more game developers creating AI slop, or just using AI generation for stupid things in their games, we need more ways to avoid them.
The problem is for me, I'm so busy that it's just easy to miss. The AI notice on Steam page is buried is small writing at the bottom of a store page. Steam itself has no filters for it currently either, although the community site SteamDB does and the list is a lot bigger than I expected. 12,284 games on Steam have an AI disclosure according to SteamDB at time of writing. I was going to say "that's a crazy number!", but it's not really is it? I'm sure many GamingOnLinux readers fully expected a lot of developers to end up pushing out slop with AI generation.
Thankfully, an open source browser userscript was pointed out to me on Bluesky (thanks!) which really makes it impossible to miss. With that installed, when going to a Steam page that has an AI disclosure, you get this appear before you're able to actually do anything:
I love how simple and most importantly how effective it is. The important thing is that doesn't stop you doing anything, or taking a look - it just makes sure you're fully aware of the AI gen use. Hopefully never again will I completely waste my time playing through a game, writing it up and then suddenly remembering - "Oh yeah, I have to check if they stuck AI generation in it".
I'm sure some readers might find my stance on AI generation a bit harsh perhaps, but when there's tens of thousands of games releasing every year — my time (and yours!) is a premium currency. Why would I want to spend my time with a game full of AI generation, when I could play one that had real actual people craft the work. I can just skip over a game with it for a different game without it. Some of the AI use just seems completely daft as well, one I saw earlier noted how it was used for "Icons + Artists Paintover for 5 icons, out of 100s of artist icons" (Kingdoms Reborn) and in that case I think like…why was it even needed at all?
Using this browser userscript, and remembering to check SteamDB, it's a genuine surprise to see just how many titles have now added an AI disclosure. To my surprise even games like My Summer Car, The Outlast Trials and Siralim Ultimate have the notice.
Hopefully you find it helpful. With tools like the recent EdenSpark announcement, we're going to see more AI games.
And they were surprised with that connection.
That blew my mind, they never thought about what it is they are presenting, and their job is to.
Are you really going to reject good games just because they dared to use AI in some irrelevant corner? You're in for a rough time as its use becomes the norm.
So yes, I really am going to reject various games due to it. If it's some "irrelevant corner", it's even stupider that they used AI gen. I believe I'll be just fine.
Are you really going to reject good games just because they dared to use AI in some irrelevant corner?
Yes.
I do not want to drink wine that only has a little sewage in it.
I take heart from the lead at Revolution Software being candid about being bullish on AI as a means to keep the price down on remastering Broken Sword, and then being equally candid on how it hadn't been cheaper, and hadn't been very good, and they weren't going to do it again having tried it. Lots of companies in lots of industries are dabbling with AI because it's being hyped at them; they won't necessarily know that AI slop isn't good unless they try it.
To be fair, he said they wouldn't use it again on rescaling the backgrounds and character sprites, but not on other things like sound/voice.
Last edited by Arehandoro on 21 Oct 2025 at 12:52 pm UTC
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/3862463747997849619 [External Link]
My biggest surprise is that so many game devs choose to self-report rather than keep it hush-hush to avoid turning principled potential buyers away.
How do we know they are...?
I mean, all or at least most of them?
My biggest surprise is that so many game devs choose to self-report rather than keep it hush-hush to avoid turning principled potential buyers away. Does Steam penalize developers that don’t disclaim it?
Even if they ignore the link that lilovent posted, they risk absolutely insane backlash if they use it and are caught doing so by gamers, let alone Valve. Not sure what Valve's response would be, but the gamer response is brutal.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1601570/discussions/0/604160267118483770/ [External Link]
And that was a game that only used it on placeholders in EA! They subsequently removed the AI-gen placeholders and recovered some semblence of respectability, but only after been absolutely dragged twice - once for using AI, and then again for their shitty "it was only in placeholders" response.
Even if they ignore the link that lilovent posted, they risk absolutely insane backlash if they use it and are caught doing so by gamers, let alone Valve. Not sure what Valve's response would be, but the gamer response is brutal.On high-profile games, sure, but I don't think it would bother serial shovelware makers if a few of their games got review bombed. They're already making trash as it is. As such, if it had been optional, I would have been surprised that so many chose to do it.
Ai is essentially the entire digital works of human kind free and non free, linked and hence probably stored in a cloud server (somewhere) being used by LLM to produce the slop. So pixar / disney , dreamworks, Sony , warnerbros, Paramount for Movies etc.. Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, BMG Rights Management, for Music etc.. Penguin Random House, HarperCollins , Macmillan Publishers for books etc...
... Then there is a tonne of non Western studios too, not mentioned here. And of course video Game companies.
Why not FOIA request the linked data and sift through it to see if the machines are using copyrighted content or non licensed ? It's computers .. there is an audit trail by the nature of computers.
It seems insane to me that this is where we are that a few tech companies just disregarded the Law when your average person can't even download a 20+ year old video game ROM for an ancient console without fear of repercussions or share certain footage of Nintendo game's without receiving a DMCA . Remember when we had the initial the era youtube DMCA hell (still kinda is).... what happened to those aggressive litigators ? Did they give up ? Do they not understand their content is being stolen ?
.. the tens of thousands of lawyers who should be making some serious BANK right now..
Is it literally just because of the Current US administration in bed with the tech conglomerates and giving them a free pass ? what about all the other countries involved in having their nations IP stolen ?