Despite Steam policies, some games still aren’t disclosing their use of Generative AI

Generative AI has become one of the biggest talking points in the video games industry, with many developers claiming that its use in game development is inevitable – while others are already slapping the controversial tech wherever they can. Despite some steps taken by Valve to ensure games using GenAI disclose as much, fans have discovered that the recently-released ‘The Alters’ has not only used GenAI in an obvious manner, but have failed to disclose this fact.

For the uninitiated, The Alters is a new survival game from 11 Bit Studios – perhaps known best for their work on This War of Mine and Frostpunk. Released earlier in June, the game received pretty solid reviews from both critics and players alike, with particular praise being given to the game’s narrative and atmosphere.

Unfortunately, The Alters has now found itself in hot water, with fans noticing some pretty clear use of Generative AI in-game, including text which explicitly features responses from the likes of ChatGPT, stating: “Sure, here’s a revised version focusing purely on scientific and astronomical data” – followed up by a bunch of science jargon.

Similarly, though even more egregious, the Brazilian subtitles for the game appear to have been translated using AI, with one conversation including the line: “Sure! The text translated to Brazilian Portuguese is: Every conversation two people can have, right? So we-”

As mentioned, the Alters is far from the first game to use Generative AI. That said, earlier this year Steam announced a policy requiring games which use such tools to disclose this fact on their store page. The Alters has not done so. As such, it will be interesting to see whether Valve or 11 Bit Studios take any action on the matter.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of the influx of AI in pretty much everything? Are there many genuine benefits to the tech? Let us know down below.

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