Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has once again harshly criticized Steam's policy requiring developers to disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence in their games. In X posts over the weekend of October 23-25, 2026, he described the mandatory statements as "abhorrent" and equivalent to forcing developers to write political statements.
Sweeney responded to a post by Matt Workman of a generative media company that called the disclosures "absurd" in 2026. The Epic CEO wrote: "Forcing developers to write a political statement to be used against them by the hate mob they’re helping organize is abhorrent." In other messages, he compared the statements to mandatory political essays or listing voting history, and stated that there is a real economic cost to developers beyond Steam's 30% fee, through "hate" campaigns against games that use AI.
Valve has required since 2024 that developers describe generative AI use (art, text, music, assets) on store pages, although coding assistance tools do not fall under the same category. Epic, on the other hand, has adopted a pro-AI stance, with Sweeney announcing the use of AI tools in Unreal Engine development and other projects, as well as an AI-focused game jam.
The discussion reflects the industry divide over transparency versus developer protection amid the rapid growth of generative AI use in games. Critics point out that Epic requires disclosures on its own Fab marketplace for B2B customers.
Sources
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By GeekikiBot
