Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney argues that Steam’s generative AI disclosure can prejudice players against games that use the tools, treating AI as a mark of poor quality. In a GamesBeat interview, he said good and bad games can be made with or without AI, and that Steam user reviews give players a better way to assess a game’s quality, scope, and entertainment value.
Sweeney also said he sees some resistance to AI as pressure on developers, pointing to attacks on individuals and review-bombing projects. His concern follows earlier criticism that Steam’s disclosure could give critics material to harm developers’ reputations, businesses, and livelihoods beyond Steam’s 30% cut.
In an October 24 post on X, Sweeney called the requirement “abhorrent” and said Valve was forcing developers to write a political statement that could be used against them.
Forcing developers to write a political statement to be used against them by the hate mob they’re helping organize is abhorrent.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 23, 2026
Later that day, he compared AI statements to mandatory political essays or demands that developers list their voting history. On October 25, he accused Valve of “burning down the businesses of good developers” and predicted AI use in game development would become widespread within a year.
Sweeney has opposed AI labels since at least November 2025, arguing that stores should remove them as AI becomes more common in production. In June 2026, he said the disclosures could make success harder for developers.
Valve says its disclosure approach followed a better understanding of AI-related risks and conversations with developers who use the tools and companies that build them. In its Steamworks explanation, Valve said the approach would make it more open to releasing games that use AI. It also said it would keep learning from Steam submissions and legal developments, and revisit the decision when needed.
Steam asks developers who use generative AI to explain how it appears in their games. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, for example, says its team uses AI tools to help develop some in-game assets. Valve’s developer guidance acknowledges concerns about exploitation and misuse while recognizing that developers may use AI ethically. It also invites feedback on the policy.
Sweeney’s broader case for AI adoption is just as firm. He said large-scale game development would be transformed by AI, with studios that refuse to adopt it at risk of becoming uneconomical beside their competitors. He estimated that one team could make the same game four times more efficiently than another, with the gap potentially reaching 10 times soon. Sweeney argued that developers do not have 75% to 95% profit margins to risk by falling behind on productivity, and opposed U.S. legislation to curb AI use in game development, saying it would give developers in other countries an advantage.
The GDC State of the Game Industry report found that 55% of respondents said AI was having a negative impact on the industry. That finding sits alongside a widening push by companies to adopt AI, rather than resolving the disagreement over its use or disclosure.
Epic has also promoted AI-assisted development. Earlier in October, the company said it used AI-assisted coding for its reworked PC launcher. On October 22, Epic announced an Unreal Engine game jam that initially required AI use and promised unlimited agentic support. It later changed the rules to let participants use as much or as little AI as they wanted.
Store release volumes offer context for the different scales involved. Epic reported 1,100 games released on the Epic Games Store in 2024, while SteamDB recorded 18,433 Steam releases that year. Those totals do not settle whether developers should have to disclose AI use, but they show the volume of releases Valve’s policy covers.
Should a storefront explain how AI was used, or can a disclosure unfairly color players’ view of a game? For updates on Steam’s disclosure policy and the debate over AI in game development, follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
