Valve does not block the use of AI, but will reject games that use AI that violate copyright

Valve discourages the use of assets created with artificial intelligence (AI) in PC Game development, but will take action against any titles that violate copyright laws.

Last month, Reddit user ' u/potterharry97 ' stated on the r/aigamedev subreddit that Valve doesn't want to release his game, which he says are assets created with artificial intelligence. The developer insisted that he changed these with his own hands, but was rejected for copyright issues and refunded for the credits he purchased.

Valve does not block the use of AI, but will reject games that use AI that violate copyright Picture 1

In the context of the game industry is facing many problems due to the use of artificial intelligence tools in their work. Well-known publisher Valve, which owns the Steam gaming and distribution platform, now says it's just updating its policy further.

"We know that artificial intelligence is a technology that will always evolve, and our goal is not to hinder its use on Steam, rather, we are working to integrate it into our existing review policy," Valve stated in Polygon.

Valve does not block the use of AI, but will reject games that use AI that violate copyright Picture 2

"To be clear, our review process is a reflection of applicable copyright and policy, not an opinion on our own. As these laws and policies change over time, our policies will change accordingly."

Allowing AI-generated works has been controversial recently, the most obvious example being probably plagiarism. In it, AI simply reuses existing works of art on the Internet, combines them and produces results according to the user's wishes.

Valve discourages the use of AI-generated assets in game development, but will take action against any game that uses AI that violates copyright. Basically, if Valve finds out that you don't own the rights to something, that content won't be accepted for submission to Steam.

Valve does not block the use of AI, but will reject games that use AI that violate copyright Picture 3

However, Valve has not been clear on how to determine whether a game lacks a copyright license for a content. But they will refund all credits paid by users in such cases, while the company continues to refine its policies.

This also highlights how difficult it is for game publishers in general to evaluate products created with AI tools. They will pass these responsibilities on to developers seeking ownership of data sets from companies that make AI tools.

However, considering most AI tools can't claim legal rights to unpaid people's products, Valve's statement essentially acts as a separate ban on all such material.

Samuel Daniel

Update 24 July 2023