Valve has adjusted its review policy for AI content on Steam, saying it will “release the vast majority of games that use it.”
However, the company is introducing new rules it described in a blog post, such as the need for developers to disclose how AI was used throughout the development of the game.
Valve split AI content into two categories:
- Pre-generated, meaning “any kind of content (art/code/sound/etc) created with the help of AI tools during development”
- Live-generated, which Valve defined as “any kind of content created with the help of AI tools while the game is running”
Both types of AI content will be reviewed by Valve to make sure it does not include “illegal or infringing content.” For live-generated AI content, developers will also need to show what features are in place to ensure the game can’t general illegal content.
The AI disclosure will be used by Valve to review the game prior to release and, once released, will be displayed on the title’s page so players are aware of what AI content is included.
Under Valve’s new AI policy, players will also be able to report any illegal content generated by AI in-game themselves.
“Today’s 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,” the blog post read. “This will allow us to be much more open to releasing games using AI technology on Steam. The only exception to this will be Adult Only Sexual Content that is created with Live-Generated AI – we are unable to release that type of content right now.
“It’s taken us some time to figure this out, and we’re sorry that has made it harder for some developers to make decisions around their games. But we don’t feel like we serve our players or developer partners by rushing into decisions that have this much complexity. We’ll continue to learn from the games being submitted to Steam, and the legal progress around AI, and will revisit this decision when necessary.”
Last June, developers reported that Valve was shifting from accepting games using AI on Steam. The company explained that its “review process [was] a reflection of current copyright law and policies, not an added layer of [its] opinion” and that it was working through ways to integrate such games as part of its review policy.
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