Steam Next Fest is being flooded with AI slop – users are demanding filters
At Steam Next Fest, you can play your way through countless game demos. However, the current event is being overshadowed by a flood of AI games. Users are demanding a filter.
Steam hosts its Next Fest three times a year, where studios provide free demos for existing and unreleased games. The autumn event has been running since October 19th. Normally, it is a paradise for millions of curious players and a treasure trove for hidden gems and the next indie sensations. Instead, the current Next Fest is being flooded with AI slop—cheap games produced with little time or money, and with the help of Claude, ChatGPT, and the like.
On social media and platforms like Reddit and others, Steam users are venting their frustration. The loudest demand: an AI filter. This would allow you to hide AI-generated games just like other genres or topics that don't appeal to you.
Developers are already required to state on Steam whether and how they use AI. While there are regular cases where it is discovered after the fact that AI was used without proper declaration, it is still more than what the Epic Game Store, for example, has to offer. There, they have gone all-in on AI.
It is obvious why studios and publishers prefer to hide the use of AI. According to a study by Game Oracle, games with generative AI on Steam receive 53 percent fewer reviews, which has a direct impact on sales.
There is already a solution for browsers. With the open-source extension «AI warning for Steam», you can easily hide AI-generated games in Chrome and Firefox. Unfortunately, the filter does not work for the overview view in Next Fest. The pop-up with the warning only appears when you click on a game. At least the Steam Next Fest charts are still largely free of AI slop. There, user interest already acts as an effective filter.
As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show all