Itch has cracked down on the flood of low-effort generative-AI games saturating its store, confirming the deletion of a couple of terabytes of “AI slop.”
In a statement on social media, the indie game storefront said it had started removing thousands of AI games and other marketplace items, including asset packs for game developers, on the grounds of spam. “Just deleted a couple terabytes of AI slop,” Itch wrote.
“Just because you can upload 10 terabytes of poorly optimized AI-generated models doesn’t mean you should upload 10 terabytes of poorly optimized AI-generated models,” Itch added.
Itch has also introduced generative-AI disclosure filtering on its site, including on the search results page “in order to better control what you see.” Through the ‘No AI’ filter, users can filter out games carrying AI disclosures.
ITCH HAS ADDED GENERATIVE-AI DISCLOSURE FILTERING TO ITS WEBSITE. IMAGE CREDIT: ITCH.
When asked whether this amounted to a blanket ban on generative AI, Itch said it only applies against the site’s terms and conditions in cases of spam. “Avoid uploading excessive amounts of automatically generated or AI-generated content,” the site’s official terms and conditions state. AI-generated content is acceptable if it is “clearly stated in your project description and that it adds substantial value to the user experience.” Repeated iterations of the same thing, spat out with slight variations, violate the rules, and AI content must show some sense of curation to pass the store’s guidelines.
Itch has taken a firmer stance on AI than, for instance, Valve. While Steam maintains an AI disclosure policy for store pages, Valve does not restrict AI-focused developers’ access to its platform, nor block “AI slop,” despite complaints from fans and developers over the deluge of low-effort games that flooded the recent Steam Next Fest. Valve also places the burden on developers to ensure their game stands out amid the detritus. In particular, there has been a significant problem on Steam of developers’ games being instantly cloned with AI as soon as they share any development progress.
“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,” Valve’s Tom Giardino said.
Epic Juegos, on the other hand, is all-in on AI. Its boss, Tim Sweeney, has heavily criticized Valve for its AI disclosure policy, calling it a “political act.”
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Kirk McKeand is a Contributor on IGN Noticias. Find him on Twitter @MckKirk
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