{"id":879859,"date":"2026-06-20T05:36:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T05:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/879859\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T05:36:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T05:36:37","slug":"steam-next-fest-is-great-but-the-slew-of-gen-ai-art-and-games-isnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/879859\/","title":{"rendered":"Steam Next Fest is Great, But The Slew of Gen-AI Art and Games Isn&#8217;t"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m an avid participant in Steam\u2019s big Next Fest event, and have been so for years. It\u2019s a time when I pile headlong into a thick stack of demos, exploring my wishlist and seeing what\u2019s coming soon that I might be interested in. This year, my vibe was all about post-apocalyptic titles, and to whet my appetite, I installed no fewer than <strong>ten demos <\/strong>to try out.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, my exploration through the depths of Steam\u2019s thousands of demos marketed through Next Fest was heavily marred by a plague of generative AI. From cover images to bodies of text, and from promotional videos to literal <strong>entire games<\/strong>, generative AI is being pushed down my throat from all angles by Valve, inadvertently or not.<\/p>\n<p>Before going any further, consider downloading the free Insider Gaming App for the cleanest way to read your gaming news from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.insidergaming.app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Google Play<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/insider-gaming\/id6753984648\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">App Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Generative AI is Everywhere in Steam Next Fest<\/p>\n<p>Steam Next Fest is a wonderful thing. It allows tiny developers to have their games merchandised across Valve\u2019s front page, and it\u2019s a time for users to explore what could be their next favorite title. Many developers will prepare exclusive, limited-time demo access specifically <strong>for <\/strong>Next Fest, making it even more of a special time for all involved.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve installed a few curious titles that fit my niche perfectly during this go-around Steam Next Fest, including:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Iron Wasteland, a post-apocalyptic game set aboard an ever-moving train.<\/li>\n<li>Last Alive, a bare-bones first-person shooter in a world overrun by zombies.<\/li>\n<li>Online: 404, an open-world survival title which challenges even veterans of the genre.<\/li>\n<li>The Refuge, a PvE, post-apocalyptic extraction game with ever-increasing difficulty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is just a pinprick in the vast gulf of the thousands of demos available, I\u2019m aware, but I\u2019m only one man, and my schedule is already tighter than a gnat\u2019s chuff.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, as I probe through the annals of Steam Next Fest, I find myself picking out countless examples of generative AI. In some cases, entire store pages are bursting at the seams with the most blatant, unashamed gen-AI assets imaginable.<\/p>\n<p>I give you Exhibit A:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-29-1024x483.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-205320\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Legacy Code: Relic Restorer is a bizarre game from Zeng Zizhao and Zero-G Studios, and the opening trailer that you see in the image above, the cover image, and the text all over the page are all 100% generative AI. In the AI Generated Content Disclosure on the page, it\u2019s written:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The game uses AI voice generation tools to create audio voiceovers for partial narrative texts and dialogue.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s as deceptive as it gets, because the game looks nothing like you\u2019d expect from the promotional material available, and even the visuals for the base gameplay loop are created via AI:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-30-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-205324\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>But this isn\u2019t an exceptional case, as I was directed to or recommended <strong>several <\/strong>games in Steam Next Fest with AI-backed assets plastered all over them.<\/p>\n<p>How about this <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4631160\/Project_Echo_Downfall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">low-effort, low-poly asset flip<\/a> (which are ten a penny these days), which uses generative AI for the cover art and the description used to promote the game? This is the most common example I\u2019ve seen on Steam.<\/p>\n<p>In another recommendation, I found Colonies of the Remnant, a post-apocalyptic shooter that has awful reviews, reports that the game is nothing like the screenshots on the Steam page, and generative AI assets everywhere. The promotional banners, header image, and in-game narrative sequences are all produced via artificial intelligence, and not even <strong>good <\/strong>AI:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-36-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-205420\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The expected AI disclaimer for this game was the usual affair: We use AI-assisted tools to generate a small portion of in-game visual and audio assets.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, this is fast becoming the norm for small games on Steam. According to SteamDB, 21,419 games were released on Steam last year, averaging 58 new games <strong>every day<\/strong>. This year is pacing ahead, as we\u2019ve hit 11,044 games with half the year left.<\/p>\n<p>Shovelware, \u2018scam games\u2019, asset flips, and yes, gen-AI titles are running wild on Steam, but is it something Valve should actively police, or is the disclaimer enough? Should it matter that a game is riddled with gen-AI assets, content, and audio, provided it <strong>states that fact <\/strong>on the store page?<\/p>\n<p>I appreciate that it allows small or solo developers to iterate faster and produce assets, like promotional art, that they might not otherwise be able to without <strong>paying someone<\/strong>, but it\u2019s the biggest turn-off imaginable these days.<\/p>\n<p>Let us know what you\u2019re thinking on the <a href=\"https:\/\/discord.com\/invite\/vwj7zdWxaW\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Insider Gaming Discord server<\/a>. Is there a deeper concern here, or should we all just get on with our lives and let it grow?<\/p>\n<p>For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/11-bit-studios-layoffs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">11 Bit Studios has made layoffs<\/a>, and for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">sign up for our newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>                  <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/author\/grant-taylor-hill\/\" class=\"block\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781933797_808_1e0e93fdaff0578734e85a52ef250c8e.png\"  class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo rounded-full border-2 border-purp-200 transition-all duration-150 hover:border-pink-400 hover:shadow-lg hover:shadow-pink-500\/30\" height=\"80\" width=\"80\"\/>                  <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-sm leading-normal text-gray-300\">\n                    Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You&#8217;ll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.                  <\/p>\n<p>                  <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/author\/grant-taylor-hill\/\" class=\"ig-authorbox-btn inline-block px-6 py-2 text-sm font-bold text-white duration-150 bg-pink-500 rounded hover:bg-pink-600\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                    More from Grant Taylor-Hill                  <\/a><\/p>\n<p> MOBILE APP<\/p>\n<p>          Level Up Your Gaming News<\/p>\n<p>Real-time news, exclusive podcasts, push alerts, and a better reading experience.<\/p>\n<p> Available on iOS &amp; Android<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m an avid participant in Steam\u2019s big Next Fest event, and have been so for years. It\u2019s a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":879860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21],"tags":[691,738,393,18227,261753,158,67,132,68,80980,87562],"class_list":["post-879859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-gaming","tag-steam","tag-steam-next-fest","tag-technology","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-valve","tag-video-game-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116780820722224271","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}