Over 36% of New Steam Games Use AI. Now Players Are Demanding a Hide Button.
Generative AI usage in Steam Next Fest games doubled in just four months, sparking a massive consumer revolt against low-effort AI slop.
Business · Source: TheGamer
What happened
Steam Next Fest is flooded with artificial intelligence. Out of 7,145 upcoming games showcased at the October event, over 36 percent disclose using generative AI. This is a massive jump from just 19 percent in June. The surge happened in only four months. Valve has required developers to disclose AI use since 2024. However, they do not use automated tools to verify these claims. They just take the developer at their word. Real AI usage is likely much higher than the reported numbers.
Gamers are pushing back hard. Players complain that low-effort AI games are crowding out ambitious indie projects. The platform offers no official filter to hide these titles and no dedicated tag for players to search. Users are now demanding a dedicated hide button to scrub AI games from their feeds. The community feels the event is absolutely ruined by a reliance on generated content.
The backlash is already claiming casualties. A remaster of Total War: Shogun 2 was recently pulled from Steam and replaced by the original version. This happened after the game received overwhelmingly negative reviews stemming from AI upscaled assets. Meanwhile, indie developers are pulling their own demos. One team behind a game called Drunken Goddess Reflux removed their demo entirely. They fear copycats will use AI to build knockoffs before their original game even launches.
Key facts
- 7,145 — Total new and upcoming games spotlighted at October's Steam Next Fest
- 36 percent — The share of games at the October event featuring generative AI
- 19 percent — The share of AI-assisted games at the previous Steam Next Fest in June
- 62.5 percent — The amount of Steam-recommended demos flagged for AI by one writer's browser extension
Why it matters
We are watching the first mainstream consumer revolt against AI-generated content. Gamers do not care about the efficiency of your tech stack. They care about the final product. When a Kotaku writer used a browser extension to block AI games, they found that 62.5 percent of Steam's recommended demos were flagged. The writer called the experience very depressing. The head of publishing for Palworld noted that obvious AI art on a thumbnail is now an immediate turn-off for buyers.
The market is sending a clear signal. Despite the flood of AI-assisted titles, the top games on the Steam Next Fest charts are entirely AI-free. Builders need to understand that slapping generative AI into a product without taste will actively hurt sales. If you use AI to cut corners on core assets, your target audience will notice and they will punish you. The technology is also fueling a new trend called vibecoding. Players use tools like Claude to decompile older games and port them to PC. Games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Halo Combat Evolved are getting browser versions. This shows AI is powerful for engineering, but dangerous for creative assets.
For builders
Hide AI usage in backend workflows
Consumers hate obvious AI art and upscaled assets. Use AI to write code, decompile source code, or optimize workflows. Keep the player-facing visuals human-crafted. If players can spot the AI in your key art, they will not buy your game.
Build curation tools for crowded markets
Valve currently lacks an official filter to hide AI-tagged games. This creates a massive opportunity for developers to build third-party discovery tools and browser extensions. Frustrated gamers are already relying on community roundups instead of algorithms. They will adopt tools that curate high-quality human work.
Protect your IP from AI copycats
Generative AI allows fast-followers to clone your product in days. Do not release playable demos too early. Wait until you have a strong community moat before exposing your core mechanics to the public. Indie devs are already pulling demos to avoid this exact threat.
My take
Building games with AI just got incredibly easy. Finding a human-made game just got incredibly hard. Gamers are begging for a simple filter because platforms refuse to moderate the slop. If you build AI products, take notes. The market will always reject lazy generation. I build in public and I see this everywhere. You cannot automate taste.
Original reporting: TheGamer. This is my rewrite and opinion.