Itch.io deletes 'a couple terabytes of AI slop' and expands its AI filters

Itch.io says it has deleted "a couple terabytes of AI slop" from its storefront and is giving players more control over whether AI-made games show up in their searches. If you browse indie games on PC, you should soon be able to filter out games made with generative AI.

The move lands on the same day Valve admitted that Steam's game approvals are slowing down, and that some developers are feeling it.

What itch.io is doing

According to GameSpot, the indie storefront announced it had removed the content and started taking steps against the flood of AI-created games arriving on the platform. In a social media post, 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."

The platform had already noted that the number of game pages created each day had doubled from 3,000 to 6,000 over the last two months, GameSpot reports.

Better ways to filter

Eurogamer reports that itch.io has expanded its AI disclosure filters, so users can better separate games made with generative AI from those that weren't. PC Gamer adds that the filters let users exclude games made with different types of generative AI.

Rock Paper Shotgun describes the filtering as something itch will offer "soon," so outlets differ on whether it is live yet. The outlet also notes that itch's main defense so far has been voluntary disclosure, which hasn't worked out well. Generative AI use in game assets has been required to be disclosed at upload for two years, Rock Paper Shotgun says, and itch itself admitted its earlier approach was "critically lacking."

In practical terms:

• Itch has removed a large amount of AI-generated uploads.
• Players can exclude games that disclose generative AI use.
• The system still depends largely on developers disclosing their use of AI.

Steam is feeling the strain too

Valve is dealing with its own backlog. PC Gamer reports that Valve admitted it is "running behind" on approving Steam games because it has to keep re-reviewing them. Wishlisted games are missing their release dates as a result, and Valve has created a new checklist to help developers get submissions right the first time. PC Gamer's headline suggests AI may be a factor, but the summary doesn't say Valve blamed it.

Developers have their own theory. Rock Paper Shotgun says the Fire Emblem-style game Food Devils, which was meant to release today, hasn't launched because of Steam's review process. Its developers think Valve is inundated with generative AI games, in the outlet's words, and say the review queue is clogged up by them. That is the developers' view, not something Valve has confirmed.

What it means for players

For players, the near-term effect is mostly about discovery. Itch.io's filters should make it easier to avoid AI-made games, while on Steam the delays mean some anticipated releases may arrive later than planned.