AI disclosure for games: Steam vs itch.io vs Peerless

At a glance

Steam: two kinds of AI content

Steam's content survey has three parts, and the third covers generative AI. Valve says it doesn't focus on "efficiency gains" from AI tools built into modern engines. It's concerned with "content that ships with your game, and is consumed by players," such as artwork, sound, narrative and localization.

The survey splits that content in two:

• Pre-Generated: content made with AI tools during development that ships in the game. Valve reviews it the same way it reviews non-AI content, including whether it's legal, non-infringing and consistent with your marketing.
• Live-Generated: content made by AI while the game runs. On top of the Pre-Generated rules, you have to describe the guardrails that stop it producing illegal content.

What you write appears on your store page. Once your build and store page are approved, some answers can only be changed through Steam Support, so get them right the first time.

itch.io: tags plus a spam rule

itch.io's quality guidelines ask you to "accurately tag your project if it contains materials produced by generative AI" using the AI Disclosure section. Projects that say they use generative AI appear on the AI Assisted browse page. itch says it strictly enforces disclosure for game asset pages "due to legal ambiguity" over rights. For games, the question is optional, as the jamshell study also notes. A game page then shows one of three things: an AI Disclosure row, "No generative AI was used," or nothing at all.

Two other parts of itch's guidelines matter here:

• Traditional game AI doesn't count. NPC pathfinding, enemy behavior patterns, procedural level generation, dynamic difficulty and dynamic music aren't generative AI and don't need tagging.
• Mass production is treated as spam. Games "predominantly created by algorithms or AI with minimal human intervention," random content with little curation, and many near-identical AI variations can be removed from browse and search.

Peerless: describe what AI does

Peerless doesn't use a checkbox list. The Content Policy says listings must "accurately describe features, pricing, content, AI use that materially affects the experience." The listing guide and content guidelines turn that into three practical rules:

1. One concrete sentence about live AI. If AI runs during play, say what it does. For example: "The gatekeeper responds to your questions using clues you have already found."
2. Network and data. Explain what the AI feature sends and whether the game needs a connection.
3. A fallback. Design and describe what happens when the AI service is unavailable.

"AI-native" on Peerless is a discovery label that staff confirm during review. Creators can't simply add it to their own game. The Content Policy also says that "AI generation does not establish ownership or permission by itself." You're still responsible for the rights to everything you ship.

Does disclosing AI hurt you?

Disclosing doesn't seem to hurt in game jams, while leaving the question blank does. The best public data we know of is a pre-registered analysis by the jamshell devlog author, published in October 2026. It covers 5,125 ranked entries across 7 finished itch.io jams, with 609 game pages classified by hand (full write-up):

• No penalty was found for disclosing AI. In jams that allow AI, entries that disclosed placed 1.4 percentile points lower than entries that said "No generative AI was used." The 95% interval ran from 7.7 lower to 5.0 higher, with p = 0.67.
• Leaving it blank was the clear gap. Entries that didn't answer placed 17.5 points lower than "No" entries, with an interval of 8.7 to 26.4 and p = 0.001. The author thinks this reflects care, meaning a rushed page or entry, rather than AI itself.
• Raters saw each group about equally often. The median entry got 13 to 15.5 ratings.

The author lists the limits: the seven jams were chosen rather than random, disclosure is self-reported, and the results show association, not cause. The write-up also cites a separate 2026 study of Steam reviews that found lower recommendation rates for games disclosing generative AI. Jam raters, who are often fellow developers, may judge differently from paying Steam buyers.

How to write a disclosure players can use

A useful disclosure answers three questions. What did AI make? What did you make? Does AI run while you play? For example:

Write the same facts in each store's format: the content survey on Steam, the AI Disclosure tags on itch and your listing text on Peerless. Players should get the same answer wherever they find the game.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to disclose AI use on Steam?

Yes, if AI-generated content ships in your game or is generated while it runs. Steam's content survey has a generative AI section with two categories, Pre-Generated and Live-Generated. Efficiency tools built into your development environment are not its focus.

Is AI disclosure required on itch.io?

itch.io asks every project to tag generative AI use accurately through the AI Disclosure section. It strictly enforces disclosure for asset pages. For games, the question is optional but expected under the quality guidelines.

Does traditional game AI like pathfinding need a disclosure?

Not on itch.io. Its guidelines say pathfinding, enemy behavior, procedural generation and dynamic difficulty are not generative AI and don't need tagging.

Does disclosing AI lower jam ratings?

A pre-registered analysis of 5,125 ranked entries across 7 itch.io jams found no clear penalty. Entries that disclosed AI placed 1.4 percentile points lower than 'No AI' entries, which was not statistically significant. Entries that left the question blank placed 17.5 points lower.

How does Peerless handle AI disclosure?

Peerless listings must accurately describe AI use that materially affects the experience. If AI runs during play, the listing says what it does in one concrete sentence, plus what data it sends and how the game behaves when the service is down. The AI-native label is confirmed during staff review.