Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney sparked debate again this Wednesday (26) after weighing in on whether digital storefronts should disclose when a game uses generative AI. Some platforms, like Steam, already require this information, but Sweeney compared it to asking studios to reveal what shampoo they use—in other words, pointless.
The discussion began when former Unreal Engine developer Matt Workman argued that marketplaces should remove “Made with AI” labels because they no longer hold much significance. Sweeney agreed, saying that AI will eventually be involved in almost every aspect of game creation.
“The AI tag makes sense for art galleries to establish authorship, and for digital asset marketplaces where buyers need clarity on licensing. It doesn’t make sense for game stores, where AI will be part of nearly all future production,”
—Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games
Steam currently requires developers to state whether AI was used in a project. Arc Raiders, for example, includes a section explaining that procedural and AI-assisted tools helped create content, but that the final work reflects the team’s own creative direction. On the Epic Games Store, the same game does not disclose AI. Sweeney even joked about it:
“Why stop at AI? Maybe we should force devs to list which shampoo they use. Customers deserve to know lol.”
Sweeney has previously defended Embark Studios’ use of AI-generated voices for Arc Raiders’ NPCs.
Generative AI remains a touchy topic among players and creators. Many artists argue that popular AI tools rely on datasets built from unlicensed work, which they view as a form of plagiarism. One widely discussed example involves tools that recreate art in the visual style of Studio Ghibli.
This same issue reached Activision, which initially failed to disclose AI-generated Ghibli-style content in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on Steam. The missing label triggered heavy criticism, leading the publisher to update the game’s page.
Indie developer Mike Bithell pushed back on Sweeney’s stance, saying on BlueSky:
“Imagine being so convinced you need garbage machines to do your job that you assume everyone must need them.”
Given Sweeney’s comments, it’s likely Epic will rely even more on AI in the development of games like Fortnite, one of the company’s biggest successes.
Rising RAM Prices and the AI Surge
In an ironic twist, Sweeney also warned that skyrocketing RAM prices—driven largely by the AI boom—will make high-performance gaming hardware more expensive for years to come. Memory costs have surged dramatically, with some modules now more than 200% higher than early-year prices, according to PCPartPicker.
Sources from Moore’s Law Is Dead claim that a major OpenAI deal with Samsung and SK Hynix last October soaked up huge amounts of RAM for AI data centres. This triggered panic buying from laptop manufacturers trying to secure supplies before stocks ran dry.
Sweeney added that factories are shifting more of their high-end DRAM production toward AI contracts:
“Data centers are offering far higher prices than consumer electronics companies, so manufacturers are redirecting capacity to meet AI demand.”
With AI adoption rising and hardware supply tightening, both the software and hardware sides of the gaming industry are feeling the impact—and Sweeney’s remarks have only intensified the conversation.
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