Article · AI translation
IT Home reported on October 29 that tech outlet NeoWin published a post today (October 29) saying that, at the Steam Indie Connect event held in South Korea, Valve responded to the controversy over “AI slop games” at Steam Next Fest. The company said it is studying solutions but will not ban developers from using AI tools.
Tom Giardino, head of Steam business, said Valve does not want to be a “gatekeeper” deciding which creative tools developers may use. He believes that a game relying solely on a single, easily copied mechanic will struggle to endure, and that developers should keep adding new features, personality, and ideas drawn from their own perspectives to make their work genuinely distinctive.
Addressing “AI slop”—the proliferation of shoddy, mass-produced games made with generative AI—another Valve executive, Marc Wilkinson, acknowledged that “quite a few people” at the company are thinking about how to respond.
He stressed that Valve does not consider its current systems perfect and sees considerable room for improvement. The company’s approach, however, is to make Steam smarter and more dynamic, rather than restrict the tools developers can use.
Valve also compared the issue to past challenges in managing the platform: from Steam Greenlight to Steam Direct, the company has repeatedly adjusted how games are listed and screened. Its goal this time is likewise to improve the store’s recommendations, filtering, and discovery experience so players can more easily find better games, rather than impose a blanket ban on AI content.