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They are not only small indie titles.
Image credit: Embark Studios | THE FINALS
Steam took a while to figure out its stance on generative AI, first reportedly refusing to publish games containing machine-made content but then introducing new rules stating all such titles must have a warning so players know what to expect. So how many Steam games use AI?
Ichiro Lambe, a former Steam Labs developer, got curious as well and ran a script collecting games with AI content disclosures, which claimed there are 1,000 titles on Steam that feature generative AI content.
And no, not all of them are obscure indies, some popular titles, like THE FINALS, are also involved. If you follow the news, this won't surprise you: Embark Studios admitted to using AI text-to-speech, and the company doesn't seem even slightly ashamed of it as this supposedly makes voice-overs "a matter of hours, instead of months."
But let's go back to Lambe. He divided the results into 8 categories based on what developers need AI for:
- Character and NPC Artwork
- Background and Environment Artwork
- Concept Art
- UI and Icon Graphics
- Store/Marketing Imagery
- Voice Acting and Audio
- Narrative Content
- Artist's Tools
In the end, he was surprised by how many creators on Steam use the technology, both in small and big titles, and the variety of use cases. He thought genAI would hide in images mostly, but it has grown beyond that.
"It's clear that a nontrivial portion of the game dev industry is actively exploring and incorporating this technology into their creative processes. I’m guessing that, as the tools advance and become more accessible, we’ll see this trend continue."
If you'd like to see where it goes, check out Lambe's blog post here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.