Epic CEO Tim Sweeney Says Steam Should Ditch Its ‘Made With AI’ Labels
Sweeney thinks “Made with AI” labels in game stores are pointless, as AI will soon be standard in nearly all game development.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is not buying the idea that game stores should keep tagging titles as “Made with AI.” In fact, he thinks the whole thing is pointless and will soon be outdated anyway.
Responding to a post on X calling for Steam and other platforms to drop AI-usage labels, Sweeney argued that the tag only really matters in places where authorship and rights are at stake, like art galleries or stock asset marketplaces. But in game stores? He says it’s unnecessary.
According to him, AI is about to be everywhere in game development, so labeling a game as “AI-made” will eventually be like labeling it “Made With Electricity.”
“It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production,”
He even joked that if stores must disclose everything, they might as well tell players what shampoo the game devs use.
Emmanuel Umahi
Steam loosens its AI rules
Valve has been slowly softening its stance on AI. After initially blocking games that used generative AI, Steam now allows most AI-assisted projects s long as developers disclose how the AI was used. Sweeney, whose Epic Games Store competes directly with Steam, thinks even that requirement is unnecessary at this point.
And he’s not the only tech leader saying AI is already embedded in game development workflows. Nexon CEO Junghun Lee recently said it’s now “important to assume that every game company is using AI,” after backlash over AI-generated voice lines in Arc Raiders. Sweeney jumped in then, too, saying AI should help devs build better games not replace them.
While AI is clearly becoming standard behind the scenes with companies like Microsoft saying 91% of their engineers now use GitHub Copilot not everyone wants AI to blend in quietly. Many indie studios are proudly using “AI-free” as a badge, marketing it as a stand for authenticity and human-led creativity.
So even if AI ends up everywhere, labels may still matter, depending on who you ask.
The takeaway
The debate over “Made with AI” labels is really a debate about where game development is headed. Sweeney’s stance reflects an industry where AI is becoming a default tool invisible, like game engines or coding assistants. But the pushback from indie developers shows players still care about how games are made, not just the final product.
In the end, AI in games may become so normal that the labels fade away but the conversation around creativity, transparency, and trust is only just beginning.
Emmanuel Umahi
