Indie devs blackmailed with AI clone threats as Valve admits problem

Blowing off Steam (Valve) As developers face emails threatening to copy their games on Steam using AI, Valve has addressed the issue during a panel. Generative artificial intelligence looks set to transform the games industry in a big way, and while some studios are embracing it more than others, a new downside of the technology has emerged in recent weeks. As posted on X earlier this month, indie developer Takashi Mochibe received an email threatening to release an AI clone of his upcoming role-playing game Dragon’s Chronicles on Steam unless he paid $200 (£150) worth of Steam items. ‘Developers out there, be careful,’ they noted, in a post with screenshots of the email. A similar incident affected YNOT, the developer behind the Halloween cooking game Spookitchen, which led to them removing the game’s demo from Steam over concerns it might be replicated using AI. ‘I received a message that someone is copying and making our game using AI,’ they wrote on X earlier this month. ‘Out of anxious feelings that the game, which took a long time to create, might be entirely copied, we’ve decided to close the demo. ‘I hope creators’ rights are respected, and that we can develop games poured with love without worry.’ Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week. The issue was recently put to Valve during the Steam Indie Connect event in South Korea on Tuesday (October 27), in a Q&A panel with Korean developers hosted by Steam business team members Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson. As reported by InvenGlobal, Giardino said it was the first time he had heard of the extortion emails. While he said it was an issue for law enforcement rather than the game platform, he added: ‘If you report such cases to us, we want to look into them further and help in whatever way we can.’ Elsewhere, Giardino outlined Valve’s core principle when it comes to new technologies like generative AI. ‘We don’t want to be gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn’t use,’ he added. Additionally, he claimed Steam places less focus on removing copies and clones of games, but more on boosting the discoverability of the original game. ‘Rather than relying on a single mechanic that someone can easily copy, you need to keep growing your game by adding features, personality, and creativity that stem from your own perspective,’ Giardino advised. Steam Next Fest, Valve’s festival for indie games, has been criticised for platforming AI slop among games made with actual effort. According to Wilkinson, this happens because, during the event’s opening days, they want to ensure every developer has their fair share of exposure – which leads to these side effects. ‘We recognise that the trade-off is some low-quality games get exposed,’ Wilkinson said. ‘We are fully aware of the situation, and a significant number of people are thinking about how to solve this problem.’ It’s difficult to see how Valve will solve the issue, especially as developers may use AI to varying degrees in development. Steam already requires developers to disclose any visible AI content in games, whether it’s art, audio, or text. AI is replicating games in other worrying ways too. Over on Roblox, unofficial ‘ports’ of Undertale, Counter-Strike and Left 4 Dead have been popping up on the online platform, which seemingly copy the entire game. As reported by content creator KreekCraft, these games have since been deleted, but it’s certainly going to be a problem for gaming platforms when it comes to monitoring these kinds of discrepancies – if they want to avoid lawsuits from publishers. Roblox is an AI nightmare (Roblox Corporation) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Resident Evil’s current story will end in ‘the next 10 years’ says Capcom Arrow MORE: GTA 6 file size revealed on PS5 and it’s the biggest single-player game ever Arrow MORE: Zelda: Ocarina Of Time – the timeline explained and why it doesn’t matter GameCentral Get the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.