In a recent blog post, Valve shared that the company spent months studying AI and its usage in games. As a result, it’s making some changes to Steam’s rules to permit the release of most games featuring generative AI. The changes involve the Content Survey that developers fill when submitting to Steam, which now includes a section for describing the AI’s role in the game’s development and categorizing its use. 

The first category covers content (such as art, code, sounds, etc.) “pre-generated” by AI before the game’s release, with developers pledging not to breach copyright laws. Valve will test this before release.

The second category addresses live-generated AI content. In addition to the first category’s rules, developers must specify the AI’s guardrails to make sure that illegal content is not created. This information will be showcased on the Steam page. Labeling games with generative AI aims to promote transparency and inform consumers.

Also, Valve will introduce a new reporting system for players to flag illegal live-generated AI content in games, accessible via the Steam in-game overlay. Also, games for mature audiences with post-launch content generation will not be allowed on Steam, being an exception.