Steam AI Disclosure for Generated 3D Models

What the Steamworks page says

The primary source is the Steamworks Documentation page “Content Survey”, read directly from the page on 2026-11-08. It shows no last-updated or effective date. From the section on generative artificial intelligence:

• Lead-in: “The third part of the survey deals with generative artificial intelligence in your development or product.”
• Scope: “Efficiency gains through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section.” Instead, “it is concerned with the use of AI in creating content that ships with your game, and is consumed by players.” It adds that this “includes content such as artwork, sound, narrative, localization, etc.”
• What you must do: “If your game used AI services during development or incorporates AI services as a part of the product, this section will require you to describe that implementation in detail”.
• Pre-Generated: “Any kind of content that ships with your game and is consumed by players that is created with the help of AI tools during development.”
• On review: “Under the Steam Distribution Agreement, you promise Valve that your game will not include illegal or infringing content, and that your game will be consistent with your marketing materials.” And in prerelease review Valve “will evaluate the output of AI generated content in your game the same way we evaluate all non-AI content - including a check that your game meets those promises.”
• Live-Generated: “Any kind of content created with the help of AI tools while the game is running.” It comes with “an additional requirement”: you must tell Valve “what kind of guardrails you’re putting on your AI to ensure it’s not generating illegal content.”

How the survey fits into release

The Overview section sets the sequence. “Before submitting your store page and product build for review, you’ll need to complete a Content Survey.” Then: “our team will compare the answers relative to the content in your build and on your store page.” So an answer is checked against what you actually uploaded, and the answers “will also be used to help customers understand how the content in your product matches with their expectations and account preferences.”

Valve’s Review Process page gives the store-page timing: review “typically takes 3-5 business days”, and it advises submitting “at least 7 business days before you want it live”. The build gets its own review with the same 3-5 day figure, and Valve asks you to plan for at least 7 business days there too. Leave room for a survey answer to be queried.

The survey is not a shield. The FAQ on the same page asks whether you can ship whatever you want once it is filled in, and answers: “No. Products on Steam must adhere to the content rules, regardless of whether it is disclosed in these surveys.” The Onboarding page lists “Content you don’t own or have adequate rights to” among things you should not publish.

What this means for 3D assets

Nothing on the Steamworks page mentions 3D models, meshes or any generator by name. The mapping below is ours. The two tests we apply are the page’s own: does it ship with the game, and do players consume it?

If you used a generator only as a sketching aid, the statement that efficiency gains from such tools are not the focus is the nearest relevant text, but whether your case counts is for you and, if needed, Valve to decide.

Pre-Generated content does not trigger the guardrails question; that belongs to Live-Generated. If your game calls an outside service while it runs, the FAQ also discusses how to charge for it through Steam-supported payment methods, such as modeling the cost into the price, microtransactions, a subscription or a single-purchase DLC.

After the game is live

Valve’s Review Process page says “Once your game has been reviewed and approved, there is no need to go through review again. You are free to update your game as much as you need to.” The Content Survey FAQ adds a limit: “Once your build and store page are approved for release, some questions in the survey cannot be edited without first contacting Steam Support.” You contact support “with a summary of what has changed, and which survey result is affected”, plus instructions on how a tester can reach the content.

So if a patch adds generated models and your answer no longer matches, plan to contact support. The page does not say which questions are locked, so check inside your own survey. Valve’s text gives no grace period or penalty for this; that is unknown.

What the page does not say

• It shows no date, so we cannot say when the current wording took effect.
• It does not say, in the section we read, that AI disclosures appear on the store page, and it does not mention a reporting button. It says only that answers help customers understand the content.
• It does not say whether a particular generator’s license, or the lack of copyright in AI output, affects review. It frames the review around illegal or infringing content and consistency with marketing.
• It does not say whether store capsules, trailers or other marketing art made with AI need disclosing. The Review Process page does say that “Your screenshots must only contain gameplay”, which limits what can appear there either way.

Outside Steamworks: press and third parties

Nothing in this section is Steam policy text.

The 2026 change. Several outlets (PC Gamer, Gigazine, Notebookcheck, TweakTown, found by search) reported that Valve revised its AI wording around 16 to 17 January 2026, shifting the emphasis toward content players consume rather than tools used in development. The outlets disagree on the 16th or 17th. We could not fetch the earlier Steamworks text to compare, and we found no Valve-authored announcement. The GameFromScratch article (dated January 10, 2024) describes the rules Valve announced then: the same Pre-Generated and Live-Generated split, with Pre-Generated defined as content “(art/code/sound/etc)” created with AI tools, and Valve quoted as saying it would include much of the disclosure on the store page. The current text above is consistent with the press description, but the date and the exact edit are unconfirmed. The press also reports a player report button for live-generated content, which we did not verify.

Where the text appears, and what counts. A law-firm blog (Legal Moves, March 5, 2026) says the disclosure appears under “About This Game” and lists marketing assets and Steam page content among things to disclose. It also says no percentage threshold exists for heavily edited AI content. Those are one firm’s statements; the Steamworks pages we read do not say the first two. Steam Page Analyzer, separately, says it saw the text on live store pages on 23 October 2026 in a section headed “AI Generated Content Disclosure”, and notes that Valve’s survey page does not describe it. That is a third party’s observation, and its location wording differs from the law firm’s.

What developers actually write. Steam Page Analyzer, a third-party tool, says it sampled 1,592 unreleased pages in October 2026 and found about three in ten carry an AI disclosure, with a median of 32 words, and that 80% mention visuals. Its percentages are keyword matches, and it says so. Its practical advice is sensible: name the content rather than the tool, say what a person did to it, and avoid absolutes such as “all” or “100%” unless they are true for every line.

Writing the answer for 3D assets

Build the answer from your asset list, not from memory. An illustrative draft, not Valve’s wording or a tested template:

Generative AI tools helped create some 3D props and background environment models in this game. Each was reviewed and edited by the developer, including retopology and texture work. The game does not generate AI content while you play.

Say only what is true for every asset covered, and keep the source spreadsheet that backs it up.

Practical use

Three habits cover most of the risk. Keep a list of which shipped assets came from a generator, with the plan and date, because the survey asks you to describe the implementation and the license depends on the plan (commercial-use terms). Check free-tier attribution duties before shipping (free-tier licenses). And read the survey itself in your own Steamworks account before release, since that is the form Valve uses, and its questions can change.

Disclosure is separate from ownership. Whether you hold copyright in a generated model is a different question, covered, for US law only, on the copyright page. For the whole checklist of shipping, see selling a game made with AI 3D assets.

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