Breakdown
- Ichiro Lambe recently released an analysis of AI content available on Steam games.
- He found over a thousand games, both big and small, making use of AI with several different use cases.
- Titles include games like The Finals which is using AI content for voice lines.
In a recent blog post from industry veteran Ichiro Lambe, he details the shocking number of games currently using AI on Steam. The in-depth analysis gives a ton of insight into the current state of AI-generated content and how it's monitored and used on Steam.
Steam has only recently opened the floodgates for games using AI-generated content to be uploaded to their store. However, in just a short amount of time, over a thousand games with the AI disclaimer are available on Steam according to Lambe. He was able to count this using Steam's mandatory AI disclaimer.
To combat an influx of AI-generated content on Steam, Steam added a shiny new section to its content survey that developers must fill out. In a developer update, Steam stated. “[We] are updating the Content Survey that developers fill out when submitting to Steam. The survey now includes a new AI disclosure section, where you’ll need to describe how you are using AI in the development and execution of your game"
There are currently eight different categories through which developers are allowed to leverage AI on Steam:
- Character and NPC Artwork
- Background and Environmental Artwork
- Concept Art
- UI and Icon Graphics
- Store/Marketing Imagery
- Voice Acting and Audio
- Narrative Content
- Artist's Tools
Lambe's findings discovered several high-profile games and some smaller ones with really good ratings on Steam. These games include titles such as:
- Tribes 3: Rivals
- The Great Rebellion (99% positive of 280 reviews)
- Atman: Rebel Flame (90% positive of 188 reviews)
- Girls of The Tower
- ARC TCG
- RetroMaze
The most high-profile game on this list is the recent release from ex-Battlefield developers, who created their own company and launched The Finals.
Yes, that's right, The Finals uses AI. However, before we go on blasting them for this, the developers only use AI for the announcer's voice lines in reaction to in-game events. Hardened industry veterans can be trusted with something of that magnitude, and I've never heard complaints about it either. To clarify this further, just a little digging will show you that the voices use training data from actual actors who have been paid.
In the end, Lambe concluded his piece with the following three observations that surprised him. The sheer number of games using AI, the fact that large devs are making use of the technology, and the various use cases for AI that aren't just image generation for promotional material.
Just like him, we're also interested in seeing how developers will continue to incorporate these rapidly developing AI tools that are becoming more and more accessible by the day. Is it for better or worse? And what will these numbers look like in a year or so?