Game Developers Required to Reveal GenAI Usage on Itch.io

Developers on Itch.io are now required to inform users if their games incorporate generative AI technology. In a recent update posted on the platform, Leaf Corcoran, the site’s founder, explained that game creators must specify if generative AI is part of their development process. This requirement covers several elements such as graphics, sound, text, dialogue, and even coding.

When developers indicate that their game utilizes generative AI, it gains a specific tag that identifies it as such. Further tags are available to highlight the specific areas where AI technology has been applied, be it in visual elements, audio, dialogue, or programming.

According to a recent update on Itch.io’s quality guidelines, “Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that create new content—like text, images, or music—by learning from extensive datasets.” These systems include widely recognized models such as ChatGPT for language and DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion for image generation, all of which produce new content by drawing from vast amounts of training data.

The platform encourages creators to responsibly tag their projects if they include materials derived from generative AI. This can be done using the AI Disclosure section when editing a project’s details. It is important to note, however, that projects employing traditional game AI techniques—such as NPC pathfinding, enemy behavior patterns, procedural level generation, or dynamic difficulty adjustments—do not fall under the same category and, therefore, are exempt from these new tagging requirements.