CEO of Epic Games thinks generative AI disclosures „make no sense for game stores”

The CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, rarely misses an opportunity to comment on the state of the video game industry. Earlier today, Sweeney also commented that video games will quickly become a more expensive hobby as RAM prices rise. But lately, the CEO’s focus has been more on AI and its effect on games. Initially spotted by PCGamesN, the Epic Games CEO had an interesting take on whether studios should disclose the use of generative AI in development.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says digital marketplaces like Steam should remove their generative AI disclosure

If you use Steam for your PC games, you may have noticed that in the last year, the platform has started requiring games to disclose any AI use in their development on their pages. This has led to some interesting statistics. Reportedly, roughly 8,000 games on Steam have admitted to some level of generative AI use. The industry has proponents on all sides of the argument. The developers behind Dispatch have said that AI could never accomplish what its voice actors are able to do, while other developers see it as a useful tool, or, in the case of ARC Raiders, openly admit to using it for voices. Players also couldn’t help but notice a large number of games using AI in the latest Steam Next Fest, which many players found disappointing.

Tim Sweeney's social media post.Source: Twitter / X

Earlier today, Matt Workman posted on social media that digital marketplaces need to drop the AI disclosure. Sweeny replied in agreement, writing, “The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production.” The quote made its way to Reddit, where users were quick to dispute the suggestion.

Some users on Reddit agreed with one of Sweeney’s points about AI use, but not that the disclosure should be done away with. One user wrote, “He’s right that a large portion of the industry will use AI in some form. That doesn’t mean Steam should do away with the disclosure.” While Sweeney didn’t mention Steam at all, it’s a fairly transparent reference to the Epic Games Store’s biggest competitor. Another user made an apt comparison, “All cigarettes contain carcinogens, all liquor contains alcohol. Labels are still put on them to bear a warning of the contents.” Even if “nearly all future productions” use AI, a disclosure or label will still allow at least the portion of the gaming audience that cares to make a choice.

• Steam
• Epic Games
• AI / Artificial Intelligence
• Tim Sweeney
• Epic Games Store