Valve Has Updated Steam’s Policy on Artificial Intelligence. Bittersweet News for Developers
Valve will ask developers to reveal how their games use artificial intelligence.
In June 2023, Valve's banning of game created using artificial intelligence was widely commented on. Since then, however, the corporation has researched the topic and introduced some changes to Steam's operating policy, which are intended to enable more AI-based games to be released on the platform.
From the published announcement, we learn that the changes mainly include a survey completed by developers when sending games and applications to Steam. It now includes a special section where developers are asked to reveal what role artificial intelligence played in the creation of their title. There are two categories to choose from:
- Pre-generated - the first category concerns content (e.g. graphics, code, sounds) that were generated earlier. By making this choice, the developer asserts that "the game will not contain any illegal content or violate any rights, and that it will be consistent with marketing materials." Valve emphasizes that it will check whether the games "meet the requirements".
- Real-time generated â?? the second category refers to content generated by AI in real-time while the game is running. In addition to adhering to the rules mentioned in the first category, creators must determine what protective barriers have been imposed on artificial intelligence to prevent the creation of illegal content.
Valve announces that it will use the statement to evaluate a given game before its release, and will place a significant part of it in the game's card so that potential customers can familiarize themselves with its content.
Players will also receive a tool (an in-game overlay) that will enable them to report content to Valve on titles that feature real-time AI-generated content.
"The changes introduced today are the result of improving our understanding of this area and the associated risks, as well as the result of conversations with game developers using AI and AI tool creators. This will enable us to be more open to publishing games that use artificial intelligence on Steam," Valve reports.
The exception is supposed to be adult games, the content of which is generated live by AI. These games will still not be able to be published on Steam.
The first results are already in
The first effects of changes are already visible. On SteamDB you can view premiering games using AI models submitted under the above-mentioned rules.
An example is Rock Star Life Simulator. Its Steam card reads as follows:
"We used AI services to make conversations with some NPC in our game more enjoyable and personalized. Conversations with NPCs that offer such options will be possible from time to time. You will have to wait a while before you can talk to them again."
