'Why should we stop using artificial intelligence? We could force disclosure of the shampoo brands developers use” – Epic boss Tim Sweeney says Steam should abandon disclosure of AI-generated content

As the debate surrounding the use of generative artificial intelligence to build video games intensifies, Tim Sweeney, the boss of Fortnite developer Epic Games, has stepped in to call on Valve to drop disclosures of AI-generated content for Steam games.

Valve's rules mean developers must disclose their use of AI-generated content on a game's Steam store page. For example, the Steam page for Embark Studios' Arc Raiders includes a note from the developer about how the game uses AI to generate content: “During development, we may use procedural and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. In all of these cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expressiveness of our own development team.”

Activision's Call of Duty also revealed an AI: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some game assets.”

However, Sweeney believes there's no point in making such a disclosure since nearly all video games use artificial intelligence. One X/Twitter user called on Steam and all digital marketplaces to drop the “Made by AI” label because “it just doesn't matter anymore,” and Sweeney agreed, adding: “The AI ​​label is relevant to art exhibitions for authorship disclosures, but also to the digital content licensing market where buyers need to know what's going on. It makes no sense for game stores because AI will be involved in almost all future productions.”

Sweeney's tweet sparked a lot of debate about what's right and what's wrong with Steam's policies. While Sweeney may be right that the use of generative AI in video game development is becoming more common, some say removing AI disclosures will make it harder for some customers to make informed purchasing decisions.

Recently, Activision Blizzard was also involved in the controversy when Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players were dragged into the controversy. Complaining about AI-generated images they found in gamesfocusing primarily on business card images with a Studio Ghibli-esque feel, below AI-Ghibli images trending earlier this year. U.S. congressmen subsequently called for Activision Blizzard to be kicked out. Calls for tighter regulation to “prevent companies from using artificial intelligence to eliminate jobs.”

I haven't really looked closely at the multiplayer and zombies cards, I'd be willing to bet they're using AI on those cards as well, but it's just the campaign and endgame cards, which is this blatant Sora/Grok art style pic.twitter.com/5qmEXhoQkJ

— Kumesicles (@Kumesicles) November 14, 2025

In the case of art—especially art sold in premium bundles or battle passes—it seems reasonable to expect generative AI disclosures to help customers inform their purchasing decisions. But this is not backed by law and Valve is enforcing this policy because it believes it is the right thing to do. It's worth pointing out that using generative AI to produce in-game art and sell it to gamers is of course different from using AI in NPC behavior or animation work, which has been part of video game development for years.

The always chatty Tim Sweeney then reinforced his point with the shampoo in another tweet — although, as many pointed out, educating customers about the shampoo isn't quite the same thing as letting them know they've replaced the artist with an AI-generated shampoo trained on the job.

Why stop at using artificial intelligence? We could force disclosure of the shampoo brands used by developers. Customers should know haha.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 27, 2025

Sweeney's stance on AI isn't surprising given Fortnite's extensive use of AI technology. This summer, Epic releases AI Darth Vader to fortnite and announced plans to let people create their own AI NPCs. The original Darth Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones, Died in September 2024 93 years old. His AI version of the voice is powered by Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs' Flash v2.5, with permission from the Jones family. Within one hour after this function goes online, Fortnite players manipulate Vader into saying things closely related to the dark side of the Force, including swearing. Epic quickly fixed the issue.

In an interview with IGN in June, Sweeney predicts small teams will soon be able to use AI cues to create video games on the scale of Nintendo's masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “AI characters give creators the possibility of unlimited dialogue with a very simple setup, meaning small teams will be able to create games with massive characters and huge interactive worlds,” he said. “What does it take for a team of 10 people to develop a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where the AI ​​just takes care of all the dialogue and you just have to write some character synopses? This is entirely achievable in the next few years.”

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Wesley is IGN News Director. Find him on Twitter: @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or privately at [email protected].