Steam updates rules on AI in games: What do Valve’s changes mean?

Valve is introducing new changes surrounding the inclusion of AI generated content in games on the Steam platform.

It wasn’t too long ago when Valve made a statement regarding the use of AI within the games on its platform, after widespread news surrounding a game developer’s struggle to publish a game on Steam. At the time, it was made apparent that Valve didn’t plan to “discourage the use of AI on Steam”, and had still to learn more about its use in game development as a whole.

Posting on its Steamworks platform, Valve has seemingly learned a lot about its inclusion in game development and has shared its plans going forward to put new changes into action, with how it handles games that use AI technology. With these new changes in tow, Valve hopes it will enable them to “release the vast majority of games that use it” going forward.

Content Survey update

Valve

The new process requires developers to discourse how they are using AI in the development and execution of their games, through an update to its Content Survey for both pre-generated and live-generated content.

Under these new changes through the ‘Steam Distribution Agreement’, developers must make a promise to Valve that their game does not include illegal or infringing content, and that it remains consistent with any of its marketing materials when it comes to pre-generated content. Any AI-generated material will be checked by Valve, the same way games are evaluated for non-AI content, to ensure that this promise is appropriately met.

The newly updated Content Survey also iterates that the same rules will apply to any live-generated content and that any “guardrails you’re putting on your AI to ensure it’s not generating illegal content” will have to be reported to Valve too.

You’ll be able to report illegal AI content on Steam

Lastly, Valve also stated its plans, on the Steamworks post, to share how much of a game’s content contains the use of AI on the Steam store page, to allow customers to “understand how the game uses AI,” and its introduction a new system to allow its userbase to report illegal content in its games which contain “live-generated AI content.”

From the in-game overlay, Steam users will be able to submit a report during any instance they discover any content they deem “should have been caught by appropriate guardrails on AI generation.”

Valve iterated that the upcoming changes “are the result of us improving our understanding of the landscape and risks in this space, as well as talking to game developers using AI, and those building AI tools. This will allow us to be much more open to releasing games using AI technology on Steam.”

The exception to these plans will be Adult Only Sexual Content that has been created using live-generated AI, according to Valve, which states that they are “unable to release that type of content right now.”