Epic CEO says Steam should ditch 'Made with AI' tags

If you buy a bottle of shampoo, you probably don't care which mechanical arm screwed on the cap. But in gaming right now, platforms and players are scrutinizing every line of AI code and synthetic voice line.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wants that to stop. Posting on X, Sweeney argued that Steam and other digital storefronts should drop their "Made with AI" tags, calling them pointless as generative AI weaves into modern game development.

Shampoos and disclosure forms

Sweeney was replying to a user calling for storefronts to ditch AI warnings. In his view, AI tags make sense in art galleries for authorship disclosure, or in digital asset marketplaces where buyers need clear licensing terms. In game stores, he argued, they make no sense because AI will soon touch nearly all production.

He then took a sarcastic jab at the whole policy, posting that stores might as well require developers to disclose what shampoo brand they use, since customers apparently deserve to know.

Valve initially blocked games with AI-generated assets over copyright fears, but later softened its stance to allow them on Steam as long as studios openly declare that AI was used. As the head of rival Epic Games Store, Sweeney clearly thinks that rule has outlived its usefulness.

This isn't his first time stepping into the ring. Earlier this month, Nexon CEO Junghun Lee said it is time to assume that every game studio is already using AI, following backlash over synthetic voice lines in the Nexon-published title Arc Raiders. Sweeney chimed in back then too, arguing that while AI multiplies human output by whole integers, studios should use that leverage to make better games rather than cut headcount.

Big tech numbers back up Sweeney's claim of ubiquity, with Microsoft reporting that 91 percent of its internal engineering teams now use GitHub Copilot. Yet plenty of indie developers disagree with abandoning the badge, with many actively advertising their projects as "100% AI-free" to win over skeptical players.

Why it matters

Sweeney is technically right about the tooling trajectory. As generative features embed directly into game engines, 3D suites, and IDEs, drawing a line between "human-made" and "AI-assisted" will become a practical nightmare. If autocomplete counts, every studio is already past the point of no return.

However, we think stripping the label right now ignores why players care in the first place. Gamers aren't necessarily parsing the software pipeline; they are pushing back against low-effort asset flips, robotic voice work, and the displacement of creative workers. For indies, wearing an "AI-free" badge has become a legitimate competitive moat and a sign of handcrafted quality.

By pushing to axe the tag, Sweeney is positioning the Epic Games Store as a frictionless home for tech-forward studios looking to normalize AI workflows without PR headaches. But Valve's tag, clunky as it is, acts as an essential pressure valve for community sentiment. Dropping transparency before ethical standards mature is more likely to breed consumer distrust than cure it.