PS Store Must Copy Steam If PC Players’ Campaign Against AI Content Succeeds

There is currently a strong push for a comprehensive Steam filter that would let users exclude any game using AI-generated assets from their search results.

The campaign, which is spreading across the usual social media platforms such as Reddit, X (formerly Twitter) and Discord, has gained real momentum thanks to this year’s Steam Next Fest, which began yesterday on 19 October.

Next Fest is meant to showcase potential indie gems, highlighting especially creative works while rallying support for smaller developers.

However, the sharp rise of AI-assisted game development has led to Next Fest being dominated by titles that don’t even try to hide their AI-generated origins. The whole thing has been a disaster.

As things stand, there is no way to simply filter these AI games out, meaning people have to wade through thousands of poor-quality titles to find anything of real value.

And it is clear that this is going to become a growing issue across all digital storefronts.

Indeed, while the PS Store has no Next Fest equivalent, it remains incredibly difficult to browse Sony’s marketplace without seeing games that are blatantly AI-generated. At this point, it feels like there is no turning back.

But if this Steam campaign does actually lead to Valve implementing a global filter option, then that same kind of functionality needs to reach PlayStation. Again, the number of AI-assisted titles flooding the PS Store is only going to increase — especially if Next Fest is anything to go by.

There is another step Sony would have to take before getting there, though. On Steam, the disclosure of AI content is mandatory on a game’s product page. On the PS Store, there is no such indication.

Work needs to be done, then, as we hurtle towards a future where minimal-effort, AI-generated games are clogging the PS Store to a depressing degree.

Would you make use of an AI-content filter on the PS Store? Maybe you’re already sick and tired of seeing these games on Steam? 分享您的想法 in the comments section below.