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Yes. A game made with generative AI can be submitted to Steam in principle. Valve has a dedicated generative-AI section in the Steamworks Content Survey, so AI use is handled through disclosure and review rather than an automatic ban. Approval still depends on the content itself: you need adequate rights, compliance with applicable law, accurate store-page claims, and a build that passes Valve’s normal review.
The key distinction is whether AI content is prepared during development and shipped with the game, or generated while players are playing. The second category requires an explanation of safeguards designed to prevent illegal output.
What does Steam’s generative-AI policy cover?
Valve’s survey focuses on AI-created material that players receive, see, hear, or otherwise consume in the released product. That includes artwork, music and other sound, writing, narrative, localization, textures, video, NPC dialogue, and content produced by an AI service at runtime.
| Category | When the content is created | What you must explain | Review emphasis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Generated | During development, before release; the resulting assets ship in the game | Identify the AI-created player content and confirm that the product contains no illegal or infringing material and matches its marketing | Valve evaluates the output in prerelease review like other game content |
| Live-Generated | While the game is running, in response to play or player input | Describe the AI implementation and the guardrails intended to prevent illegal output | The same baseline content rules, plus scrutiny of controls that operate during play |
Pre-generated content
Pre-generated means an AI tool helped create content during development and that content is packaged for players. A generated character portrait, soundtrack, quest text, texture set, voice line, or translation can fall into this category. The fact that the asset was created before launch does not exempt it from review; Valve assesses it as part of the submitted game.
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Live-generated content
Live-generated means the game creates content with AI while it is running. Examples include an NPC producing new dialogue, a system generating a scene from player instructions, or an online service returning an image or text during a session. Valve requires the same legal and content compliance as for pre-generated material, but also asks how you limit unlawful results. Your explanation should cover the controls that are actually present in the shipped product, not safeguards you merely intend to add later.
AI used only to make development faster
Using AI for internal coding help, brainstorming, bug triage, project management, or other development efficiency is not the focus of this survey section when no AI-created player content or AI service is included in the released product. The relevant question is what the player receives from the shipped game, not whether an AI tool appeared somewhere in your workflow.
Do I have to disclose AI-generated assets on Steam?
If AI helped create content that players consume, disclose it in the generative-AI portion of the Steamworks Content Survey. Disclosure gives Valve information for review; it is not a waiver of Steam’s content rules.
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Valve’s own FAQ states: “No. Products on Steam must adhere to the content rules, regardless of whether it is disclosed in these surveys.” In practical terms, a complete survey can help a reviewer understand your implementation, but it cannot make illegal, infringing, or otherwise prohibited material acceptable.
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Inventory every player-facing use
Make an asset-and-service inventory before completing the survey. Include obvious media such as illustrations, music, voice, video, and writing, as well as less visible material such as localization, generated textures, procedural prompts sent to an external model, and NPC responses produced during play. Mark whether each item is fixed before release or generated at runtime.
Describe the implementation plainly
For pre-generated content, explain what categories of assets were created with AI and shipped. For live generation, explain when generation occurs, what inputs it accepts, and which moderation or filtering measures are intended to block illegal output. If a game contains both kinds of use, describe both; the categories are not mutually exclusive.
How do rights and provenance affect approval?
Rights are a separate requirement from AI disclosure. Steam’s onboarding rules say publishers must not distribute “Content you don’t own or have adequate rights to,” and the product must comply with the laws of every jurisdiction where it is available.
Build a provenance record
For each shipped or runtime-generated element, retain records of the model or service, the tool version where available, datasets or source assets used, prompts, applicable licenses and terms, human edits, and internal approvals. These records help you verify that the output can be distributed and that any restrictions are compatible with a commercial Steam release.
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The platform requirement does not settle every copyright question in every country. Ownership and infringement can depend on the jurisdiction, the source material, the contract governing the tool, and the degree of human contribution. Treat the model provider’s terms as one part of your review rather than as a universal clearance of every output.
Check the final output, not just the input
A lawful prompt or licensed tool does not guarantee that every generated result is safe to ship. Review the actual assets and text for recognizable third-party characters, logos, copied passages, unauthorized voices, personal data, unlawful imagery, and other material that could conflict with Steam’s rules or your own marketing. Runtime systems need an equivalent review of the controls that constrain outputs during play.
What is the Steam submission process for an AI-assisted game?
AI disclosure sits inside the ordinary Steamworks onboarding and review process. Complete the following sequence before setting a release date.
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- Inventory AI use. List every player-consumed asset or service created with AI, including art, audio, writing, localization, dialogue, textures, video, and runtime generation.
- Classify each use. Mark content created during development as pre-generated and content created while the game runs as live-generated.
- Complete the Content Survey. Fill in the generative-AI section and describe the implementation. For live generation, explain moderation and other guardrails designed to prevent illegal output.
- Audit rights and legality. Confirm that you own or have adequate rights to the shipped material, and inspect outputs for unlawful or infringing content. Keep your provenance records with the project files.
- Align the store page and build. Make sure descriptions, screenshots, trailers, feature claims, and the submitted build describe the same product. Valve reviews the store presence before the build, and both must be approved before release.
- Pay the Steam Direct product submission fee. Valve’s 2026 onboarding documentation lists a fee of $100 USD per product. The fee is non-refundable, but the fee documentation says it can be recouped after the product reaches at least $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue from Steam Store or in-app purchases.
- Allow the required waiting period. Valve’s official pages currently conflict: one 2026 onboarding page says 21 days, while the Steam Direct page says 30 days. Check the current Steamworks dashboard for your product, or ask Steam Support which rule applies, and plan against the longer period until you have a definitive answer.
- Submit for review. Send the completed store presence and build through Steamworks and respond to any requests for clarification or changes from Valve.
What will Valve reviewers look for?
Review is not framed as “AI versus non-AI.” The practical questions are whether the content is permitted, whether you have the necessary rights, whether your survey answers match the build, and whether the store page accurately describes what players receive.
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For pre-generated content
- Does the shipped asset contain illegal or infringing material?
- Do your licenses and provenance records support distribution?
- Does the game match its screenshots, descriptions, ratings, and other marketing claims?
For live-generated content
- What can the player ask the system to create?
- What filters, moderation, blocklists, approval steps, or other guardrails limit unlawful output?
- Do those controls remain active in the released build and across the inputs your game accepts?
Live systems add an operational problem: the output can change after submission. A pre-generated asset can be examined once and locked into the build; a runtime system must be designed and described so that its restrictions continue to work while players use it.
What can cause rejection or delay?
Most avoidable problems come from treating disclosure as permission, underestimating provenance, or allowing the store page to promise more than the build delivers.
- Incomplete disclosure: listing only the headline art while omitting AI-written dialogue, localization, audio, or a runtime service.
- Missing rights evidence: relying on a tool’s general marketing statement without checking the license, source assets, usage limits, or output restrictions that apply to your project.
- Unsafe live generation: shipping a prompt-driven feature without explaining safeguards against illegal output.
- Inconsistent marketing: advertising unlimited or unrestricted generation when the submitted product is curated, filtered, or materially narrower.
- Ignoring updates to the product: adding a new AI-generated feature between store review and release without revisiting the survey, rights audit, and build checks.
- Misreading the timetable: budgeting for a 21-day wait when the applicable process requires 30 days, or assuming the fee is refundable.
How can you prepare an AI game before submission?
Use this final checklist immediately before sending the product to Valve:
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- Every player-facing AI use is recorded and classified as pre-generated or live-generated.
- The Content Survey explains the implementation in terms a reviewer can verify in the build.
- Live-generation safeguards are implemented, tested internally, and described without overstating their coverage.
- Each shipped asset has a rights and provenance record, including source material, tool terms, edits, and approvals.
- The game, store page, screenshots, video, and feature descriptions make the same claims.
- Illegal, infringing, or otherwise prohibited material has been removed from fixed assets and addressed in runtime controls.
- The $100 USD product submission fee is budgeted, with no assumption that it will be refunded.
- The applicable waiting period is confirmed in the current Steamworks dashboard or with Steam Support.
- Store-page review is completed before relying on build approval or announcing a launch date.
Frequently asked questions
Can one Steam game use both pre-generated and live-generated AI content?
Yes. A game can ship fixed AI-created art or dialogue and also generate new material during play. Treat the two uses separately in your inventory and include the additional guardrail explanation required for the live portion.
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Does a disclosure protect me if a generated asset later proves problematic?
No. Disclosure does not override Steam’s content rules or the requirement to distribute only material you own or have adequate rights to use. Keep dated provenance and approval records so you can investigate and replace a disputed asset quickly.
What if the AI service is optional rather than required to finish the game?
Optional runtime generation is still content created while the game is running. If players can access it in the released product, describe that feature and its safeguards in the live-generated portion of the survey rather than treating it as an internal development tool.
Can I announce an AI feature before Valve approves the store page?
You can describe your planned feature, but the published store materials must accurately match the build Valve reviews. Avoid promises about unrestricted or unlimited output unless the submitted product and its controls genuinely deliver them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one Steam game use both pre-generated and live-generated AI content?
Yes. A game can ship fixed AI-created art or dialogue and also generate new material during play. Treat the two uses separately in your inventory and include the additional guardrail explanation required for the live portion.
Does a disclosure protect me if a generated asset later proves problematic?
No. Disclosure does not override Steam’s content rules or the requirement to distribute only material you own or have adequate rights to use. Keep dated provenance and approval records so you can investigate and replace a disputed asset quickly.
What if the AI service is optional rather than required to finish the game?
Optional runtime generation is still content created while the game is running. If players can access it in the released product, describe that feature and its safeguards in the live-generated portion of the survey rather than treating it as an internal development tool.
Can I announce an AI feature before Valve approves the store page?
You can describe your planned feature, but the published store materials must accurately match the build Valve reviews. Avoid promises about unrestricted or unlimited output unless the submitted product and its controls genuinely deliver them.
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