Disclosing AI-generated content on Steam and itch.io

Store rules about AI are new and keep changing, and what counts as "AI-generated content" is still being argued over. This guide helps you prepare an honest answer. It is not legal advice and it does not replace each store's current rules. Read them at the source before you submit.

More games are made with some help from generative AI: concept art, textures, voice, music, code suggestions, or text written for the game. Stores and players now expect developers to say so. This guide covers how to decide what to disclose, how to word it, and which records are worth keeping. The store page readiness checker includes a reminder for it under "Ratings, disclosures, and legal".

Why disclosure matters

• Stores ask for it. Steam asks developers to describe their use of AI in the game or its marketing as part of the store page questionnaire, and shows a summary to players. itch.io also gives creators a way to say whether a project uses generative AI. The exact questions and what counts have changed since they were introduced, so read the current wording in Steamworks and in your itch.io project settings.
• Players care. Some players avoid games that use generated content, and others do not mind. Either way, a clear honest statement builds more trust than a surprise found later in a review thread.
• Ownership and licensing are unsettled. Whether you can claim copyright in generated material, and whether it was made from other people's work, depends on the country, the tool's terms, and the details. A record of what you used protects you if a question comes up.

Step 1: list what you used

Go through your project and write down every place a generative tool contributed. Be specific, not general:

• Art and animation: concept art, textures, sprites, backgrounds, icons, store art, trailers.
• Audio: music, sound effects, voices, narration.
• Text: dialogue, item descriptions, store page copy, the privacy policy, translations.
• Code and tools: code suggestions, scripts, level or content generation tools.
• Marketing: social posts, thumbnails, press kit images.

For each item, note the tool and version, what you gave it, how much you changed the result, and the date.

Step 2: sort it

The questionnaires on stores tend to ask about two broad cases, and it helps to sort your list the same way:

• Made during development. Material that was generated, checked, and then shipped as a fixed part of the game, such as a texture or a piece of music.
• Made while the game runs. Anything the game creates on a player's device or from a server as people play, such as text from a language model or generated images. This one needs more care, because you cannot review every result in advance. Stores that ask about it usually want to know what guardrails stop the game from producing illegal or harmful content, so be ready to describe yours.

Tools that only help you work, such as a code helper or a grammar checker, can be treated differently from material that players see or hear. The stores have changed what they ask about these, so follow the current rules and, if the guidance is unclear, say a little more rather than less.

Step 3: check the rights

• Read the terms of each tool. Some limit commercial use, require credit, or give the tool's company rights in what you make.
• Do not feed other people's work to a tool, such as a living artist's style or a licensed character, and ask for the same.
• Do not use a generated result that closely copies someone else's work, even by accident. Compare it before you ship it.
• Keep the files, prompts, and receipts or account records for anything you paid for.
• If you work with other artists, writers, or composers, agree in writing whether their work may be used to train or feed a tool.

Stores also ask you to confirm that you have the rights to everything you ship, which makes this list important rather than optional.

Step 4: write the disclosure

A good disclosure is short, specific, and honest. It says what, where, and how. Compare:

• Vague: "This game may use AI."
• Clear: "The background paintings in chapters 2 and 3 were generated with an image tool and then repainted by hand. The music, voices, characters, and all text were made by people."

If you used none, say so plainly where the store asks. If the game generates content while it runs, say what it produces and what you do to keep it safe. If you are not sure whether something counts, write it down and explain, because a spare sentence costs you nothing.

Step 5: keep it up to date

• Revisit your answers each time you add content, change tools, or publish an update. An answer that was true at launch can stop being true.
• Use the same wording in your store page, your press kit, and your press page, so journalists and players see one consistent story.
• If a player or a journalist asks, answer directly and calmly. Your records from step 1 are what let you do that.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the question blank or answering it for the main game and forgetting the store art.
• Treating "I edited it afterwards" as the same as "I made it".
• Using a tool's output without reading its terms.
• Describing the use in marketing but not in the store questionnaire, or the other way round.

Stores can restrict or remove a page that answers these questions wrongly, so treat them with the same care as your age rating answers. The age ratings guide covers those, and the store page checklist shows where all of these forms fit in your launch.