The NEW Surprising Number of Steam Games that Use GenAI
Left: the correct number of fingers from 2023. Right: in 2025, we can now turn that into faithfully-rendered photo. It is truly a time to have fingers.
A year ago, I poked around Steam to see how many game developers were disclosing usage of Generative AI. It was around 1,000, which seemed like a lot to me at the time. If memory serves, that was about 1.1% of the entire Steam library, which has since seen 20,000+ more titles appear. I've been following the number since, and a few colleagues have nudged me to do a follow-up (tip of the hat to Brandon and Rob here). So then:
Today, Nearly 8,000 Games on Steam Use GenAI
Or, more precisely: 7,818 titles on Steam disclose GenAI usage. That’s 7% of the total Steam library (there are now around 114,126 titles). We’ve octupled last year’s figure! In fact, a little under 20% of all games released in 2025 have disclosed such use. (Source: I use Steam’s API for my game discovery platform, We ❤ Every Game.)
1 in 5 games released in 2025 disclosed GenAI Usage
So, first question I have:
What Are They Using it For?
Use cases for production have settled into a few big buckets:
Visual Asset Generation: This is in about 60% of disclosures. Characters, backgrounds, 2D/3D models, textures, you name it.
Audio Generation: Background music, yes, but also full-on voice-overs, narration, and character voices using text-to-speech tools like ElevenLabs.
Text & Narrative Generation: Devs are using LLMs for everything from item descriptions and lore to brainstorming story arcs.
Marketing & Promotional Materials: Short game descriptions; the “about this game” section; and banners (which overlap #1 a bit).
Code/Game Logic: A ton of code generation assistance going on.
That set is roughly what I’d expect, but games are also using GenAI at runtime more and more.
Games Increasingly Use GenAI in Gameplay
Comedy Night, for instance, uses GenAI for content flagging:
“We use Ai to detect offensive material being uploaded to use as stage backgrounds and facemasks. Ai is also used to flag offensive room names and descriptions
.”
Nyric and Bitmagic use LLMs to create worlds from hand-authored assets:
“Players can prompt unique 3D realms into existence using Nyric. An API breaks down text inputs into a pipeline of world attributes in order to generate biomes from a pre-loaded cache of assets at runtime.”
“Players can create and modify games using text prompts. The game uses AI (LLM) to understand the player's request and then uses LLM to construct the game using a pre-defined asset library.”
There’s now a bunch of games using generative stuff at runtime:
AI Roguelite: This game uses AI to "live-generate in-game content such as text, images, and sound effects" and to make "game mechanics decisions in real time".
inZOI: Players can generate textures for items based on text inputm and create 3D objects from image input. The actions and thoughts of in-game characters are controlled by “Small Language Models.”
Never Ending Dungeon: The game's AI generates "rich, diverse scenarios with maps tailored for both Game Masters and players". This includes AI-designed maps, NPCs, enemies, traps, and rooms. This one started its life as a Kickstarter campaign, but looks to have run out of funding.
DREAMIO: AI-Powered Adventures: Dynamically generates stories, illustrations, and voiceovers in response to player input.
AIdventure, CLUAIDO, Survival Of Runt, Verbal Verdict: GenAI powers NPC behavio(u)r, responses to text input, and the like.
Vojna: “You engage in direct dialogue with artificial intelligence via radio.“
Akpala: NPCs respond to player voice input.
Project Electric Sheep: Uses LLMs to design worlds based on the player's “dream” prompts. Similar to Nyric and Bitmagic.
Street Flicker: "Use generative AI to forge your own unique fighter!"
1001 Nights: Dynamically-generated content based on player text input, including story text and scene images. The AI-powered king character weaves the story based on player's storytelling.
Many of these are still in production, but some are out—let’s take a look at one that has 432 player reviews, and an 82% positive score.
An 80% Positive Rating for a GenAI Roguelite?
AI Roguelite is a game that wears its GenAI-ness on its sleeve (“the world's first text-based RPG where every location, NPC, enemy, item, crafting recipe, and game mechanic is 100% determined by artificial intelligence“). Digging through the reviews, players generally like what it’s doing:
Players laud the flexibility: “Whether you want a story of a knight fighting the evil dragon, or a story of a homeless man turned mage taking over the world with questionable weapons/abilities, while in the process waiting in line to use the public restroom, feeding Naruto drug-infused flan, and making a deal with the Burger King (himself) for an unlimited lifetime supply of Whoppers, this game will let you do that. And I think that's beautiful.”
Several AI Dungeon comparisons: “This game is honestly what I'd always wanted AI Dungeon to be… AI Roguelite does away with pretty much all of [its] issues, and brings its own wild flavor to the table.”
Favorable comps to straight-up ChatGPT: “Anyone who has messed around with LLMs directly… knows that it requires a lot of babysitting… AI Roguelite requires far less, if any.”
But they also note LLM instability: “Sometimes the AI will decide that you take damage and instantly die just for talking with a friendly NPC because why not?”
Unsurprisingly, players who pick these games up seem to like them (if gameplay delivers!) Not too surprising, as purchasers are a self-selecting group. But it is interesting that consumers feel there are games that do make GenAI-in-gameplay work.
Biggest GenAI’ed Games of the Last Year
Here are the most-reviewed four that officially launched in the past 12 months:
Est. 2.5 million units sold*.
“There are some AI generated paintings found inside the main house.”
Est. 1.3 million units sold*.
“The character voices used in the game were generated by artificial intelligence.”
Est. 175k units sold*.
“Some in-game interface images were created through known image AIs. All AI running outside the game interface is programmed by Vawraek Technology".”
Est. 500k units sold*.
“Players can generate unique textures for character outfits and various items based on text input. They can also create 3D objects from image input, which can be used as interior decorations or accessories, and add distinctive motions to their Zoi using video input.”
(*Using the Boxleiter Method, wherein you take the number of player reviews and multiply by 35 to estimate units sold.)
Defensive Language
I’m seeing more frequent careful, curated language in some of the disclosures, like this:
“While AI tools have been used to generate initial ideas or base images, our art team carefully reviews, edits, and refines all AI-assisted content to ensure it meets our quality standards...”
And this:
“AI tools helped us achieve precision and efficiency in visual creation while maintaining the artistic integrity and distinctiveness that our players love...”
It’s a tightrope walk. They’re disclosing usage, as per Valve’s rules, but also working hard to reassure customers that a human is still at the helm, ensuring quality and, well, artistic integrity. Will they sway GenAI opponents? I dunno—I should do a survey and another article.
No Accurate Gauge for Adoption
As you have undoubtedly noticed, the disclosures are voluntary. So, how many games are actually secretly using generative AI? Are you secretly generative AI? The truth is that we can’t really tell—all we know is that the 8k figure is a lower bound on usage.
The Conclusion, Part Deux
The eightfold* rise in GenAI games might come as no surprise to some, but from down in the trenches, it’s always tough for me to predict how this stuff will go. There are devs who absolutely will not use anything that’s trained on other people’s material, or (even in cases where training materials are licensed) object to GenAI on the basis that it takes the creativity out of things or nukes jobs. To wit, there’s a vocal anti-AI sentiment among artists and gamers who simply won’t buy games with this stuff in. Perhaps another opportunity for a survey—though I suspect the topic is intricate enough that I wouldn’t be able to conduct a rigorous one.
Any proper survey methodologists want to team up?
(*When I started drafting this article last month, it was sevenfold. We’re getting more folds more quickly than ever.)
Apart that, my new questions for the year are here:
Are a significant number of games using some form of GenAI without disclosing it?
What should be disclosed? Does using GenAI as a regex tutorial count, if it’s using LLMs trained on Stack Overflow, or is that fair use?
Which uses, if any, will developers and gamers generally accept by the end of the year?
How many games on Steam by the end of the year? Taking all bets.
Thanks for reading. Check back with me (Bluesky, LinkedIn) for the next installment, when Brandon and/or Rob nudge me to create one. In the meantime, here’s more writing!
