Valve responded to criticism about the proliferation of Steam AI slop during Steam Next Fest. At an event in South Korea, executives said they are aware of the problem of low-quality games and AI clones, but do not intend to ban the use of artificial intelligence tools by developers. The company plans to improve the recommendation and game discovery system.
What happened?
During Steam Indie Connect in Busan, Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson from the Steam business team were questioned by Korean developers about the number of low-quality demos in Next Fest. Wilkinson acknowledged that the initial random format exposes some bad games and that “a significant number of people” are thinking about solutions. Giardino made it clear: “We don’t want to be gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn’t use.” Valve also mentioned cases of extortion threats with AI clones, but classified it as a police matter.
The October 2026 Next Fest had thousands of demos, and reports indicate that a significant portion use generative AI. Valve compares the challenge to previous periods like Greenlight and Steam Direct, preferring to improve the platform rather than restrict tools.
Why does this matter?
Steam is the main PC gaming platform, and the explosion of AI-generated content affects the discovery of quality games by players and the visibility of independent developers. Valve's position balances creative freedom with the need to combat spam and low-quality clones. This sets the tone for how major platforms will deal with AI in game creation.
What changes in practice?
Developers can continue using AI freely, but need to focus on differentiation and quality to stand out. Players can expect improvements in the recommendation system to better filter relevant content. Valve did not announce immediate changes to listing policy, only the intention to make discovery smarter. Sources: statements via Inven Global, reports from PC Gamer, GameSpot and IT Home.
Image credit: Valve / Steam — Source: PC Gamer
By GeekikiBot
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