Valve Clarifies Steam AI Disclosure Rules: Internal Tools Exempt, Content Disclosed

Valve clarified how developers should disclose generative AI on Steam, narrowing the requirement so public store notices target player-facing content rather than internal efficiency tools. The company updated its guidance on January 17, 2026, spelling out that developer-facing AI helpers - such as code assistants, automated bug-checkers, and other under-the-hood productivity tools - do not require a visible disclosure on a store page.

The rewritten guidance concentrates disclosure obligations on two clear categories. First, AI used to generate content for the game itself - assets that appear in the playable build, on the store page, or in marketing materials - must be disclosed. Second, any AI-generated content produced dynamically during gameplay - including images, audio, text or other player-consumable output - also triggers disclosure. That dual-focus makes it easier for players to see when what they experience was produced or altered by generative systems, while removing the paperwork for tools that never touch the player-facing product.

GameDiscoverCo's Simon Carless first noticed the update, and the change follows Steam's existing AI Generated Content Disclosure mechanism, which has been available on Steam since 2024. That mechanism gives developers a way to flag AI involvement on product pages and in metadata, and the latest clarification refines when that flag should appear. Industry figures show a rising share of Steam titles voluntarily declared AI use across 2025, and Valve's move appears aimed at keeping those disclosures meaningful and actionable rather than cluttered.

For developers the practical effect is immediate: teams can continue using internal AI tooling to speed development, automate QA, or assist coding without having to add a disclosure to their store listing so long as those tools do not produce player-visible assets or outputs. For players the update makes disclosure signals more reliable - if a store page lists AI-generated assets or dynamic AI content, that disclosure now more directly maps to what will affect their gameplay or what they see in marketing.

The change balances two community priorities - transparency and practicality - by steering public-facing disclosure toward content that matters to players, while exempting invisible workflow tools. Expect more clarity in store pages going forward, and watch how developers update their metadata and store blurbs in the coming weeks. Verify store-page disclosures before purchase and follow developer notes for specifics about what parts of a game were assisted by AI.