Almost 8,000 games on Steam have disclosed the use of Generative AI (GenAI), a new report claims.
Ichiro Lambe, CEO of Totally Human Media and former Steam Labs developer, used Steam’s API via an internal game discovery platform to get the results. At the time of publication on July 13, Totally Human Media reports that 7,818 titles on Steam have disclosed GenAI usage.
Back on April 24, 2024, the outlet ran a similar report. By that time, the number of games disclosing GenAI use on Steam was around 1,000. Now, according to Lambe, that number has been octupled. In other words, the figure is around 7 percent of the total of Steam library, and a little under 20 percent of all games released so far this year.
In terms of what the GenAI usage entails, this includes generation of visual assets, audio, text, and narrative. It’s also present in marketing and promotional materials, as well as games’ internal code and logic.
Despite GenAI disclosures, some games are selling hundreds of thousands of copies
In the report, Lambe notes that the use of GenAI during gameplay is increasing. In Nyric, players can use text inputs to generate biomes from a pre-loaded cache of assets at runtime. Other examples include AI Roguelite, which uses the tech to “live-generate ingame content,” including text, images, and sound effects, as well as making “game mechanics decisions in real time.”
A notable example is inZOI, published by Krafton on March 27. The company branded it as a “long-term franchise” after it hit 1 million sales a week after release. Over at the game’s Steam page, the AI generated content disclosure includes the option for players to generate “unique textures for character outfits and various items” based on text input, as well as 3D objects and distinctive motions for characters from image and video input, respectively. In addition, actions and thoughts of characters are controlled through “sLM technology,” which enables “more engaging and intuitive interactions.”
And yet, inZOI is still quite popular. The same applies to the likes of My Summer Car and Liar’s Bar, which have accrued hundreds of thousands of reviews. According to their respective disclosures, the former presents AI generated paintings to decorate a main location, while the latter uses it for character voices.
The use of GenAI, both disclosed and undisclosed, continues making the rounds. On June 30, 11 Bit Studios issued an apology for not disclosing the use of generative AI in The Alters. Earlier this month, after an employee conjured Mickey Mouse on stream, Unity promised strong AI copyright “guardrails” moving forward. And just yesterday, a new report claimed that a number of developers caught in layoffs at Candy Crush maker King are allegedly being replaced with AI tools created internally.
