Epic Games boss calls Steam AI disclosures "irresponsible of Valve"
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney criticized Valve's Steam platform for requiring developers to disclose AI use in their games, calling the policy "really irresponsible." He argued that the disclosure requirement creates a stigma around AI tools, making it significantly harder for indie developers to succeed and unfairly penalizing them compared to larger, established game companies.
Background
- **Epic Games** (maker of *Fortnite*) runs the Epic Games Store, a major competitor to Valve's Steam — the dominant PC gaming marketplace. The two companies have a long-running rivalry over store policies and revenue cuts.
- **Valve** (owner of Steam) recently began requiring developers to disclose whether their games use AI-generated content (art, voice, code, etc.), and to label such games accordingly.
- **Epic CEO Tim Sweeney** argues these disclosures are unfairly punitive: he claims they stigmatize AI use and make it harder for small developers to get noticed, since Steam's algorithms may suppress undisclosed or AI-labeled titles.
- The dispute reflects a broader industry tension: how to regulate AI in creative work without crushing indie developers, versus players' desire to know if a game's assets were made by humans or machines.