Unlike a majority of CEOs, Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney is rather vocal, sharing his thoughts on industry news via a variety of means. Taking part in a new interview, the CEO commented on Valve’s AI disclosure policy – calling the practice “irresponsible.”

Taking part in an interview with the publication PCGamer, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was asked about a range of topics, from their recently-announced ‘Team Open’ to Epic’s relationship with Valve. In discussing Steam’s new AI disclosure system – wherein developers must state if and how they used GenAI during game development – Sweeney offered a response typical of a CEO heavily invested in the technology, stating:

“It's unfortunate that so many developers now are put into this position. If you want to launch a game, and get it as widely publicized as possible, you've got to put it on Steam so people can wish list it, and if you want to play it on Steam, then you have to get this Scarlet Letter of AI attached to your product, and now there is a hater community trying to kill the game.”

Sweeney continued, “I think it's really irresponsible of Valve. They shouldn't do it, because it makes it much, much, much harder for a game developer to have a chance of success. You have to choose from either not using tools that can make you way more productive, and probably failing due to competition that does.”

It is worth noting that Sweeney appears to be approaching this question from a single angle, ignoring the wider issues with and implications of GenAI in game development – as well as the fact that many players simply don’t like it.

As mentioned, Epic Games has been increasingly embracing AI in its game development, and so it makes sense that Sweeney would take such a position.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Sweeney’s claims? Do you agree? Should AI disclosures be enforced further? Let us know down below.

For years now, Epic Games and Google have been engaged in a back and forth, with the Fortnite maker seeing its titles removed from Android’s Play Store, necessitating users to find alternate means to play the popular Battle Royale on Android. Finally, after countless court sessions and an evolving environment, Google and Epic have finally settled their differences, with Fortnite set to return to the Google Play Store “soon.”

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed that “Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we've settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE!”

As a result, Sweeney revealed that “Fortnite will return to Google Play Store worldwide soon. Epic Games Store continues supporting Android worldwide alongside Windows and Mac, and installation on Android will become much easier later in 2026.”

Alongside this, Google themselves released a lengthy Android developers blog, confirming the details of this “new era for choice and openness” which includes:

• Expanded billing choice on Google Play for users and developers
• A new Registered App Stores program
• Lower pricing and new programs to support developers

The blog post concluded with a direct reference to the aforementioned Epic Games dispute, with Google stating: “With these updates, we have also resolved our disputes worldwide with Epic Games. We believe these changes will make for a stronger Android ecosystem with even more successful developers and higher-quality apps and games available across more form factors for everyone. We look forward to our continued work with the developer community to build the next generation of digital experiences.”

While there is no denying that Epic Games engaged in this years-long legal battle for self-serving reasons, the final result does seem to be one that will benefit the end users more than before. Full details on these changes and their planned rollout can be found HERE.

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KitGuru says: Who did you think would ultimately come out on top? Is this good for the wider industry as a whole? Let us know your thoughts down below.