Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who recently criticized Valve's use of mandatory Steam disclosures for games with AI-generated content, will surely not be using a new browser plugin which makes those disclosures significantly more noticeable and even hides AI-aided games in Steam search results.
Self-described Linux gamer and coder seeeeew shared the "AI warning for Steam" plugin on Bluesky earlier this month, shortly before Sweeney made the case that Steam's disclosures make it "much, much, much harder for a game developer to have a chance of success".
The plugin is available for Firefox and Google Chrome directly, and is also listed on Github. I've seen reports of workarounds that can get it running in the Steam client itself, but I haven't been able to confirm this functionality.
I have tested the Chrome version myself, and it works as described. When you open the Steam store page of a game with any sort of AI content disclosure, that disclosure will appear as a pop-up when you first load that page, making it utterly unmissable.
Additionally, in Steam search results, any AI-aided games are blurred out by default, covered with a label reading, "AI Generated Content Disclosure found." If you consider any gen AI use to be a deal-breaker, or if you're just a stickler for the tech, this plugin could save you some time filtering or checking games on Steam.
Many people discovered this plugin during the latest Steam Next Fest, a week-long showcase of Steam demos for upcoming games. As Palworld lead John Buckley lamented, more and more Steam Next Fest entries use AI-generated images or assets, reflecting a broader rise in the use of the technology.
Sweeney has repeatedly pushed Steam to drop AI content disclosures, which are not used on the Epic Games Store. His latest argument is that they attach a "Scarlet Letter" to games which use AI and can invite a "hater community trying to kill the game".
Sweeney says devs "have to choose from either not using tools that can make you way more productive, and probably failing due to competition that does," reiterating his stance that AI will be central to game development going forward, and suggesting that devs who don't use AI tools will fall hopelessly behind.
In a report featuring over 30 game developers from across the industry and around the world, GamesRadar+ repeatedly heard that many game devs do not want to use generative AI for myriad reasons.
