Days ago, Valve came under scrutiny after it was learned that he had rejected the publication of a game on Steam for including content generated by artificial intelligence. The company explained that the decision corresponded to the fact that some artistic elements could have been generated from material protected by copyright. And he argued that he couldn’t prove that the developer of the game owned the rights to all the intellectual property used to train the AI.
Gabe Newell’s decision generated divided reactions in the developer community. Some saw it as a simple—and logical—way to cover themselves from potential copyright infringement lawsuits. While others criticized the blockade as they believe it could undermine innovation in game development, at a time when more and more creators are relying on generative AI.
However, now Valve has come out to clarify its stance regarding the use of artificial intelligence in Steam games. It’s a statement sent to the pressthe company explained that does not discourage the use of technology. And he confirmed that the ban on certain games is linked to issues of copyrightand not with an opinion against generative AI itself.
“We know this is an ever-evolving technology and our goal is not to discourage its use on Steam; instead, we are working on how to integrate it into our existing review policies. Plainly stated, our review process is a reflection of the laws and current copyright policies, not an extra layer with our opinion.As these laws and policies evolve over time, so will our process [de revisión]”.
Valve on including games with AI-generated content on Steam
Valve clarifies its stance on the use of AI in Steam games
From Steam they have also mentioned that their priority is to try to launch as many games as possible. However, the explosion in popularity of content created using artificial intelligence poses a significant challenge, especially from a legal point of view. In fact, Valve speaks in its statement about the “legal uncertainty” surrounding the use of data to train generative AI models.
In simple terms, from Steam they affirm that developers will be able to continue launching games with elements created with artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, they will have to prove that they own the intellectual property that was used to train the algorithms. Or, at the very least, that they hold the relevant licenses. The latter is very important, since it covers different types of materials, such as images, music and even text.
“We drive and encourage innovation, and artificial intelligence is meant to create new and exciting experiences in games. While developers can use these AI technologies in their work with the appropriate commercial licenses, they may not infringe existing copyrights “Valve explains.
Finally, those of Gabe Newell indicated that, although they do not usually offer refunds to those who do not pass the Steam game review process, they do analyze doing so in cases related to elements created with generative AI.