Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Steam Page Finally Discloses the Use of Generative AI

In case you missed it, back in early December, we published an article highlighting Steam’s apparent hesitance to enforce its own rules and its special treatment of Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 when it comes to generative AI, with the platform being in no rush to make the publisher disclose that the game contains content churned out by a machine.

At the time, I predicted that the disclosure would come once the hype around the game had died down and revealing uncomfortable truths wouldn’t hurt the bottom line as much, presumably around March 2025. It seems the hype faded sooner than expected, as BO6’s Steam page now finally acknowledges what many had already suspected: yes, there is AI-generated content in the game.

Brought into the spotlight by CharlieIntel, the AI Generated Content Disclosure was seemingly added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s page on Steam in late January, according to SteamDB, allowing players to know this crucial bit of information before purchasing the game and without having to look it up themselves.

The disclosure states that the developer “uses generative AI tools to help develop some in-game assets,” but doesn’t go into detail about what those assets are. While it’s been there for nearly a month now, the disclosure has only recently made headlines, likely due to the gaming community’s recent push for Steam to add a special filter to exclude AI-generated games.

When news about BO6’s AI disclosure went viral, many players and news outlets alike directed their displeasure at Activision, asking the obvious question – what took them so long to admit the use of AI? – yet, for some reason, few questioned the party arguably even more responsible in this situation – Steam itself.

Yes, it’s true that Activision only confirmed the obvious because of Steam’s rules and would likely not have admitted it otherwise, but these rules haven’t been introduced recently – they’ve been in place for over a year now, raising the question of how Valve actually enforces the mandatory disclosure of AI use.

Furthermore, throughout Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s entire lifespan, the developers’ love for generative content was evident, starting with Treyarch’s April 2024 job opening for a 2D Artist/Animator with proficiency in “using generative AI tools,” followed by Wired’s July 2024 report on AI-generated cosmetics in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Reddit user Fondl_ putting together an entire album showcasing “pretty obvious” examples of generative AI usage in Black Ops 6, and finally, the “Necroclaus” controversy, which our aforementioned December 2024 report is mostly dedicated to.

With that in mind, it’s fair to say the question “What took you so long?” should be directed not at Activision but at Steam instead – Activision at least has financial incentives to keep it a secret, but what’s Steam’s incentive? Or is the “AI disclosure” rule only enforced when developers voluntarily reveal it? And what if they don’t? Just how many big-budget titles on Steam still keep AI usage a secret? So many questions, yet given Valve’s reputation as one of the most secretive game studios, I doubt we’ll get many answers.

So, what are your thoughts on AI-generated content in games? Should developers be required to disclose it? Is Steam in cahoots with AAA developers to keep AI usage hidden for as long as possible? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!