Valve, the owner of the popular gaming platform Steam, has discreetly started banning games that utilize AI-generated assets. The move comes as Valve takes a stand against developers who cannot prove ownership of the original art or text assets used to train their AI algorithms.

An anonymous developer on Reddit recently revealed their experience with Valve’s new policy. The developer attempted to release a game featuring AI-generated assets but received an email from Steam stating that the necessary rights were not secured. The email explained that the game contained art assets generated by AI that appeared to rely on copyrighted material owned by third parties. As a result, the game was not allowed to be published on Steam.

Despite the developer’s efforts to remove all unauthorized content, the game was ultimately declined. However, Valve made an exception and refunded the app credits used to submit the game as a goodwill gesture.

Valve clarified its stance, stating that the introduction of AI in game development can complicate the process of proving ownership of assets. The company emphasized that it is the responsibility of developers to ensure they have the appropriate rights to use AI-generated assets. Valve also acknowledged the legal uncertainty surrounding data used to train AI models and expressed its commitment to integrating AI while abiding by existing copyright laws and policies.

It is important to note that Valve’s crackdown on AI-generated assets aligns with its recently announced major update to the Steam application. This update brings various improvements, including a fresh new look, enhanced notifications, an updated in-game overlay, and a new Notes feature.