The criticism of Valve's policy
According to IT之家, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, in an interview with GamesBeat, called unfair Valve's measure requiring developers to declare the use of artificial intelligence in games published on Steam. The criticism concerns not so much the disclosure requirement itself as its perceived effect: according to the executive, the label leads players to automatically associate AI with low-quality products.
Sweeney also rejected the argument that the system would serve to clarify to players how a game is made, maintaining that the public already has tools such as reviews to assess a title's quality, content, and entertainment value.
The competitiveness argument
In the interview, Epic's CEO argues that large developers will be transformed by AI and that those who reject these tools risk falling behind on cost and efficiency, to the point of no longer being able to compete. He cited a scenario in which one team completes the same game in a quarter of the time or at a quarter of the cost of another, with a gap that could widen to as much as ten times.
According to Sweeney, companies in the industry do not have margins on the order of 75-95%, the percentage he cites, sufficient to absorb the risk of less efficient production. The conclusion presented is that AI adoption is now a matter of survival for development companies, not an optional choice.
The allegation against the anti-AI campaign
The executive spoke of a push against AI led by hostile groups, which according to him manifests itself through personal attacks on developers and coordinated negative reviews, with the aim of blocking the spread of the technology. On this basis he accused Valve of fueling, through the label, an instrumental use against the authors and the commercial visibility of projects.
Sweeney also argued that AI, like any engine, tool, or way of working, can produce both valid and poor results, and that attributing the blame for individual negative cases to the technology penalizes those who use it well. The report relays his statements without indicating any response from Valve or formal initiatives by Epic against the policy.
What remains to be verified
It is not indicated whether Sweeney's position will translate into a legal challenge or an official request to change Steam's rules, nor whether Valve has commented on the accusations. The actual workings of the labeling and its weight on sales therefore remain to be clarified: the available material reports only the Epic CEO's assessment.
