Last year, we reported thatValve wasn’t allowing games using AI artto be listed on its Steam storefront. Fast-forward to today, and followingValve’s opening the floodgates on AI use in Steam games, we now know there are at least 1,000 AI-powered games on Steam so far. This statistic stems from an analysis by Ichiro Lambe, a 30-year game industry veteran, insider, and developer, on his siteTotally Human.
By running a Python script and crawling the Steam Store for the now-required AI usage disclosure message, Lambe found 1,000 games listed relying on generative AI in some way. Usually, this means things like concept art and promo art, but sometimes AI art is also used as an in-game asset or modified before being used as an asset. One example given isThe Great Rebellion, a 2D-pixel art roguelike that adapts some AI art into pixelized backgrounds for the game.
Throughout his analysis, Lambe concluded that games leveraging generative AI on Steam do so in one or more of the eight listed categories below.
Current Eight “Categories” of How Steam Games are Using Generative AI
Of the specific games mentioned throughout the analysis, the highest-profile release isThe Finalsfrom Embark Studios (built by former Dice developers from the acclaimedBattlefieldseries). The Finals leverages cutting-edge environmental destruction and modern large-scale shooter gameplay while also using AI to generate real-time gameplay commentary. Moral concerns of generative AI usage notwithstanding, this is one of the more seamless implementations of AI into games— particularly in the hands of such experienced developers.
The future points toward generative AI usage becoming more commonplace in games, whether gamers want it or not. Previously, we spoke about plans to make AI-powered “Neo NPCs.” As cool and promising as that does look, we can’t understate the potential negative impacts on the industry and art form as we know it.
Generative AI can potentially disrupt the labor market for artists, writers, voice actors, and other skilled workers who help make video games worth playing. But even if you don’t care about that, any reasonable gamer should be concerned about the long-term future of games that rely on generative AI to function.
As-is, dozens of classic games simply are no longer playable on modern platforms without piracy or community-hosted servers. Sometimes, even those solutions will not be enough to actually keep a game in a playable state — and this is usually just for online multiplayer.
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Instead, imagine the best single-player RPG you’ve ever played — complete with immersive AI-backed NPC conversations — and remember that that game will cost thousands of dollars yearly to keep functioning. Major publishers can’t be trusted to maintain multiplayer servers for more than a few years — why would this be any different?
If you’re worried about your rights as a consumer, game ownership, and game preservationtoday, you’ll be a lot more worried tomorrow.
Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.
