Generative AI is becoming an increasingly significant part of game development, particularly on PC, and this shift is happening rapidly. A new study reveals a sharp increase in Steam games that utilize AI, which may make some players uneasy about where things are headed.
Research from Totally Human highlights that, in just one year, the number of Steam titles disclosing generative AI use has increased by 800%. That means the count went from around 1,000 games in 2024 to nearly 8,000 in 2025. To put it in perspective, that’s about 7% of all games on the platform now.
It’s worth noting that a lot of these games are small indie projects, and some might be on the rougher side quality-wise, the kind of releases that have occasionally shown up on the PlayStation Store and raised eyebrows. Still, it’s clear that using AI in game creation is becoming pretty widespread.
One recent example was The Alters, where developers admitted that placeholder text created by AI accidentally ended up in the final game. That kind of slip makes you wonder: how often are we playing games with AI-generated parts without even realizing it?
Digging into the details, about 60% of these AI-using Steam games rely on generative AI to create visual assets, basically, anything you see on screen. The rest involve AI-generated audio, text, marketing materials such as key art (which is becoming increasingly common on PlayStation’s storefront), and even code.
Given the current wave of layoffs across the gaming industry, this trend raises significant concerns. If smaller studios are adopting AI tools so quickly, it’s likely only a matter of time before major publishers seriously consider these platforms for cutting costs.
