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Valve representatives Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson acknowledged concerns about AI-assisted game cloning and a flood of low-quality releases on Steam. Valve says it does not want to police which development tools creators use and is instead looking to improve the platform’s discovery systems; no specific policy changes were announced.
Valve representatives acknowledged that AI-assisted game cloning and a flood of low-quality releases pose challenges for Steam, but said the company does not want to dictate which tools developers may use. Speaking at Steam Indie Connect in Busan, Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson said Valve’s approach is to improve Steam’s discovery systems rather than limit developer access, while acknowledging that the current system can expose users to low-quality games.
Giardino said games were being copied before generative AI, although the process was slower. He argued that developers can make their games harder to imitate by building a community and continuing to add features and creative elements that reflect their own perspective. Those comments followed reports, cited by PC Gamer and Inven Global, of developers facing threats that their games would be cloned with AI unless they paid. The source material does not establish how widespread such threats are.
Wilkinson described how Steam Next Fest discovery works: during the event’s first two days, users see games in a largely randomized way. Recommendations then become personalized, with Steam showing players titles it expects them to enjoy. Wilkinson said the early randomization is intended to give developers a fair opportunity to be seen, while acknowledging the trade-off that some low-quality games receive exposure.
PC Gamer cited SteamDB data showing nearly 23,000 games released on Steam in 2026 at the time of its report, before November. That figure covers all releases and does not show how many used AI or were low quality. The volume helps explain the discovery challenge, but it does not by itself establish that AI caused the increase.
Discovery Risks for Small Developers
Steam’s choices about discovery affect how players find games and whether smaller studios can reach an audience amid a crowded store. A randomized introduction to Next Fest may offer broad exposure, but it also means players can encounter titles they consider low quality. Personalized recommendations may narrow the field to games suited to a user’s tastes, yet they do not directly resolve fears that an unreleased concept or demo could be copied.
For independent developers, cloning concerns can influence what they are willing to show publicly. PC Gamer reported that Digital Suns Games canceled a planned Steam demo for Moonlighter over worries about cloning. Israel Mallén of the studio suggested storefronts could give developers more ways to vet access to pre-release builds, including account age, playtime, or review history. Those are proposals from a developer, not measures Valve announced it would adopt.
Valve’s stated preference for platform-level improvements over restricting tools sets the direction of its response, but leaves open how well discovery changes can address both low-quality listings and copying. The company has acknowledged the trade-off without outlining a specific remedy or timetable.
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Valve’s Current Discovery Approach
The comments came during Steam Indie Connect, an event in Busan, South Korea, where Valve staff discussed issues facing independent developers. PC Gamer’s report, citing Inven Global for the event discussion, described concerns around Next Fest’s volume of demos and the possibility that public releases could be copied.
Valve has not framed the problem solely as an AI issue. Giardino said game cloning predates AI, while the report describes AI tools as enabling a new concern: developers fear that games or ideas can be copied and released more quickly. The source material does not provide a count of verified AI-made clones or establish how often AI is involved in Steam releases.
Valve’s comments also come as Steam faces a large and growing catalog. The reported 2026 release count is a snapshot at the time of the article, not an annual total or an estimate of AI-generated games. It offers scale, but the quality and development methods of those releases are not measured by that count.
“We don’t want to be gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn’t use.”
— Tom Giardino, Valve
No Specific Safeguards Announced
Valve acknowledged the issues but did not announce a new policy, tool, or release schedule. Giardino said there was room for improvement, and Wilkinson said people were considering ways to address the problem, but neither gave details about what might change or when.
It is also unclear how many Steam games involve AI-generated material, how many are copies of existing titles, or how often developers have received cloning threats. The release total cited by PC Gamer does not break games down by use of AI, quality, or originality. Valve’s comments do not establish that AI use itself will be restricted, nor that new screening options for pre-release builds are planned.
Awaiting Details From Valve
The next concrete development would be a Valve announcement describing any changes to Steam’s recommendation systems, demo access, or developer safeguards. None was provided in the comments reported from Steam Indie Connect. Until Valve supplies further details, its stated direction is to make Steam more dynamic rather than decide which tools developers can use.
For now, players and developers will continue to use Steam’s existing discovery features, including Next Fest’s early randomized exposure followed by personalized recommendations. Whether that approach can reduce the visibility of low-quality releases or ease concerns about cloning remains to be seen.
Key Questions
What did Valve say about AI and game cloning?
Valve staff acknowledged concerns about AI-assisted cloning and low-quality game releases. Tom Giardino said Valve does not want to dictate which development tools creators use.
Is Valve banning AI-made games on Steam?
No such ban was announced in the reported comments. Valve described improving Steam as its starting point and did not announce a change to its rules on development tools.
How does Steam Next Fest show games to users?
Marc Wilkinson said discovery is largely randomized during the first two days; recommendations then become personalized to show players games they may be more likely to enjoy.
Did Valve announce new protections against cloning?
No. Valve acknowledged there is room for improvement, but the report did not include a specific safeguard or timetable. Developer suggestions for vetting access to pre-release builds were proposals, not announced Valve policy.
Source: fediverse
