We will see how the players react.
Steam Next Fest is back, and this season players may have an extra reason to take a close look at the labels of the demos they’re testing. Eurogamer found that on the SteamDB database, 1,704 of the 8,700 titles listed as participating in the event were labeled as having used generative AI. To do the math for you, that’s 19.5 percent, or just under a fifth of the games included in the showcase.
This high prevalence is a bit surprising considering how many previously released games have faced backlash from players when generational AI hardware has been discovered. Many indie game executives have also been particularly hawkish about when and how AI is used in development. Valve initially updated its guidelines for the use of AI in games sold on Steam in 2024. While this change allowed for greater use of the technology, it added requirements for developers to notify players when they applied generation AI. The company now allows “efficiencies” to not justify the AI label, which might explain why one of the most common scandals among developers has been the use of AI-generated assets that aren’t replaced before launch. It happened with an escape shot Crimson Desert earlier this year. However, even some titles that embraced AI early on, like Arc Raidershave made changes to reduce their use of technology in recent months.
