Valve, the developer behind the popular Half-Life series and owner of the Steam games store, has addressed recent claims suggesting it has banned AI-generated games from its platform. The company released a rare statement clarifying its stance, stating that its policy is not a stand against AI but an evolving process.
Similar to other app platforms, Steam follows a review and approval process for games, with content rules that may not always be clear until developers test them with edge cases. An indie game developer took to a subreddit for like-minded developers using AI, claiming that Valve is no longer willing to publish games with AI generated content.
The developer had submitted a game with a few assets that were obviously generated by AI, which seemed to be a point of contention for Valve. The company’s first warning letter explained that the legal ownership of AI-generated art is unclear, preventing them from shipping the game unless the developer can confirm proper rights to the IP used in training the AI.
A week later, Valve reviewed the game again and took time to understand the AI technology used to create it. However, they declined to distribute the game since it remained unclear if the AI tech had sufficient rights to the training data.
This policy effectively appeared to be a blanket ban on games featuring AI-generated assets, as most AI tools cannot claim legal rights to their training data. Valve had deemed the risk of publishing such work too high, even if creators could not claim copyright over their own AI-generated art.
Valve responded to Eurogamer, asserting that their policy reflects current copyright laws and policies rather than a particular stance on AI. They acknowledged that AI is an evolving technology and expressed a desire to integrate it into their existing review policies. The company clarified that their review process aligns with legal requirements and intends to refund the submission fee in cases where this policy plays a decisive role.
Although it’s currently unclear how AI is being utilized meaningfully outside of experimental purposes or blatant cash grabs, more established developers are venturing into AI tools, and the sophistication of these tools continues to grow. This raises questions about the liability creators, distributors, and others involved may face when dealing with AI-generated art.
It’s evident that Valve’s policy aims to strike a balance between embracing AI and upholding legal obligations. As copyright laws and policies evolve over time, Valve intends to adapt its review process accordingly.
While it may not be a significant loss that AI-generated games with questionable intentions are not published on Steam, the situation might become more complex as legitimate developers embrace these tools and their capabilities expand.
