With the rise of AI use in game development, some Steam users want a way to filter out those games from their storefront. But it may not be as easy as that.
What kind of filters would you like when browsing games on Steam? Perhaps the most widely used is the NSFW filter, which became a louder conversation earlier this year when payment processors pressured Steam and itch.io to remove or delist those games. But another controversial topic many players are concerned about is AI. On Reddit, users are discussing how to filter out AI-generated games, how Steam should implement it, and which other categories players would like to avoid. Everyone from the CEO of Epic Games to the team behind the recent indie hit Dispatch has been weighing in on the use of AI in video games lately, and many users claim they want to avoid any game that uses AI. This could be a good way for Steam to make those users happy, but will it be easy? Probably not
Should Steam implement an AI filter? Users on Reddit call for a way to avoid those games
The post shared on the Steam subreddit says “The ‘Made with AI’ tag is good…” referring to Steam’s somewhat recent requirement of all games to disclose the use of AI in game development. This is a disclosure that Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, recently said was pointless. This Reddit user, u/G_aster, thinks it should go even further, writing, “I want a setting to hide them.” There were several notable reactions in the comments.
The top, most upvoted comment simply states, “This should be on all platforms.” Clearly, this is a popular sentiment, at least with some portion of the Reddit audience. Another top comment pointed out that “you can already do that” and shared a screenshot of Steam’s preferences page that allows players to add “Tags to Exclude.” But players were quick to point out that this is not a reliable solution. Tags on Steam are user-defined, as a reply points out, “They are highly inaccurate.” This method would likely miss some games that don’t yet have the tag, as well as games that feature Artificial Intelligence in the story or themes, rather than in the game’s development. For example, neither ARC Raiders, which used AI for some voice lines, nor Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which has been accused of using AI art for calling cards, has the “Artificial Intelligence” tag on its store page.
Another user pointed out the nuance of the AI disclosure, writing that “at least as of now, [it] can mean a lot of different things…” The use of AI can range from using AI voices as a temporary development tool before introducing real voice actors in The Blood of Dawnwalker, to using it for background text and translations, like in The Alters. “A blanket hiding setting would affect quite a bit of games and developers,” the same Reddit user continues. Steam users will have varying opinions on what they want to avoid and what they don’t, making a filter that pleases everyone potentially complex.
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There was also a strong sentiment for another filter, as one user replied to the top comment: “We also need to be able to block all Denuvo and ‘kernel access’ games from showing up as well.” This refers to the anti-cheat software standard in many PvP games these days. Many users are uncomfortable giving a third-party software kernel access to their computer, but others, such as Linux users, can’t even play games with this requirement. In a reply, one user wrote, “I basically play 100% on Steam Deck and this would be incredibly helpful…” Most anti-cheat software is incompatible with Linux, which Steam OS uses.
