With generative artificial intelligence (AI) enabling anyone to make games, AI-utilized games are rapidly increasing. A fierce battle for leadership is also igniting among platforms over who will connect these self-made games with users. However, figuring out how to filter out low-quality games created by AI, so-called 'slop', has emerged as a new challenge. According to SteamDB statistics on the 29th, the number of releases on Steam this year that disclosed the use of AI content reached 7,299. This significantly surpasses last year's figure (4,682), showing a steep spread. The proportion of games disclosing AI use surged from 10.9% in 2024 to 30.8% as of July.

This impact stems from the rapid expansion of the areas AI handles in game development. Moving beyond generating content like images and voices, AI is evolving into a stage where it directly performs tasks such as writing code and manipulating game engines. In particular, GPT-6 Astra, released on the 3rd of this month, can take charge of tasks ranging from connecting with game engines to directly editing scenes, running and testing games, and even modifying the results afterward.

Platform competition is intensifying over where to upload these created games and how to connect them with users. Meta unveiled its AI game-creation tools 'Horizon Create' and 'Horizon Studio' on the 24th. If you explain the game you want to make in words, the AI creates 2D and 3D games, and you can also modify characters, progression rules, and difficulty levels through conversation. With 'Build', an AI creation tool trial-launched in New Zealand by user-generated game platform Roblox last July, about 9,000 games were created as of the 11th. Notably, 71% of Build users were new creators who had never handled Roblox's traditional creation tools before. This means a structure where game users instantly transition into creators has begun to operate.

In South Korea, movements to preempt game distribution platforms are also kicking into gear. One Store announced on the same day that it is opening its dedicated AI game zone, 'AI Games', to all developers. The company plans to rename the dedicated zone to 'AI Game' early next month and place it in the bottom menu of the One Store app to enhance accessibility.

The problem is that as the barrier to production lowers, low-quality, generic 'AI slop' and games copying existing hits can easily pour out. 'Elderwood', modeled after 'RuneScape' and created by an OpenAI employee using GPT-6 Astra early this month, attracted about 3,000 accounts on its first day of release, but closed its doors in three days due to a removal request from the original developer Jagex. Roblox reflects long-term usage rates and churn rates in its recommendations and lowers the exposure ranking of content excessively similar to existing games, but it remains uncertain whether recommendation systems alone can manage quality amid surging supplies.

"AI performance has risen to a level where indie games can be made with just a 'click'," a game industry official said. "It is still a transition period with many clumsy aspects, but as production know-how gradually accumulates, platforms distributing games by individual developers could establish themselves as a single market."

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