Steam Next Fest severely disappointed players. More than 500 games used AI

A few years ago, Steam Next Fest was an event that could elevate previously unknown gems from the indie scene to the top. It was there that players first discovered games like Dave the Diver, Slay the Spire, and Dredge – games that started as small projects and later became Steam hits.

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However, this year's October event highlighted a worrying trend that's increasingly impacting the indie creator scene.

According to TechRaptor, 504 demos from this year's Steam Next Fest—about 17% of all games presented at the event—disclosed the use of generative artificial intelligence in their development process.

Valve mandates that developers maintain complete transparency in this area, meaning each title must specify the degree to which AI was used. The analysis shows that the creators used it not just for marketing, but also for concept art, music, sound effects, translations, coding, and even writing scripts and dialogues.

Cloudheim at the top of the list – but with reservations

The most popular title that admitted to using AI turned out to be Cloudheim—an action game with RPG elements, which was included in the top 50 most frequently played demos during the festival. Its devs from Noodle Cat Games have openly said they used generative AI, but they made it clear it was just for internal communication and team support, not to replace people.

In a statement posted on the game's Steam page, the studio noted:

Voices without soul

The problem is even more apparent in bigger projects. Embark Studio, known for The Finals, openly admitted that in this game, it replaced voice actors with generative models. Now, similar practices seem to be returning in its new game, Arc Raiders.

On the game's Steam page, there's a pretty vague statement saying the creators used AI to "help with content creation." Fans are already pointing out that the dialogues sound unnatural, suggesting the use of synthetic voices.

It is not an isolated case. Lately, more and more teams are using generative tools without telling players, only admitting it when they get caught. This was the case with The Alters from 11 bit studios, which only admitted to using AI after facing criticism. However, it should be noted that the extent of its use there, although noticeable, was minimal.

Community reacts

On Reddit, a heated debate kicked off under a post about the report. In the comments, players expressed their disappointment with the recent Steam Next Fest. Furthermore, many users admitted that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find valuable indie titles on Valve's platform. As a result, to discover one gem, we must sift through hundreds of trashy projects. It's always been like that, but AI creators are making it even trickier.

The discussion also included voices defending the reasonable use of AI in game development:

Another commenter pointed out that technology doesn't really tackle the biggest issue creators face:

The discussion about the flood of AI-generated games coincided with an analysis prepared by the Gamalytic group, which was highlighted by Artur Smiarowski, the developer of Soulash.

• indie games
• demo / trial versions
• AI / Artificial Intelligence
• Steam Games Festival / Steam Next Fest