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GameDiscoverCo
The Hidden AI Signifier in Next Fest: And Why It’s So Complex
Key insights
7 takeaways- 01Steam AI disclosures in Next Fest have risen sharply from 21.2% in February 2026 to 34.4% in October 2026, totaling 2,517 games.
- 02Approximately 70% of AI disclosures relate to visual art and graphics, though these are frequently limited to secondary assets like store icons rather than core game art.
- 03Games with disclosed AI usage are disproportionately represented in the lower-popularity tiers of Steam Next Fest, with very few high-CCU titles relying on core AI implementation.
- 04The 'Game engine not detected' category in Steam Next Fest has grown significantly to 17.7%, now ranking as the second most common 'engine' after Unity (46%).
- 05Godot usage in Next Fest demos has increased from 12.6% to 17.4%, showing faster growth among lower-popularity titles compared to the top 100 games.
- 06Top-performing games by CCU remain heavily concentrated in established engines, with 53% using Unity and 28% using Unreal, compared to only 6% using Godot.
- 07Steam's official AI disclosure data is incomplete because it excludes games using AI-assisted coding tools and does not account for non-disclosing developers.
Summary
You can’t just add up public AI disclosures, folks. (Also: the latest discovery news & this week on Steam.)
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