Valve admits Steam has an AI slop and cloning problem, but says 'we don't want to be gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn't use'
Steam Next Fest is being flooded with thousands of low-effort games, while developers are becoming reluctant to share their work for fear of seeing it quickly cloned.
The rising issue of AI generated game clones is causing concern for developers on Steam. At the Steam Indie Connect event in Busan, Valve representatives Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson admitted the problem, citing at least one instance of a developer being threatened with extortion: "If you don't pay, we'll clone your game with AI and release it first."
However, they emphasized that Valve does not wish to act as gatekeepers deciding which tools developers should or should not use. Giardino suggested that developers can protect their work by building a strong community and continually improving their game. Wilkinson explained that Steam will initially show games randomly to all users, then provide personalized recommendations based on preferences.
This randomization aims to give every developer a fair chance at visibility before showing the best games tailored to individual interests. The duo acknowledged the trade-off of exposing some low-quality games but stated they are aware of the issue and many are working on solutions. Despite the flood of nearly 23,000 games released on Steam just in 2026, Valve seems unlikely to implement major changes like giving developers more tools to vet pre-release build access.
Giardino noted there is still room for improvement, but their philosophy is to make Steam a smarter and more dynamic platform.
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