Steam Week in Review: Take cover, because it looks like more than half of Steam games will have an AI-disclosure by 2027-2028
Steam's release velocity shifted dramatically after June 2017's Steam Direct policy removed Valve's manual game curation. Monthly releases climbed steadily from roughly 650 in 2017 to approximately 1500 by early 2025. This growth intensified sharply: Steam shipped 21,382 games in 2025 alone, and by mid-2026 had already published 13,359 new titles—suggesting a release rate approaching 27,000 annually.
The article attributes this explosive growth to developers preemptively publishing before AI-disclosure requirements are implemented around 2027-2028. The timing suggests a strategic race to establish back-catalogue presence ahead of regulatory compliance obligations, reflecting both Steam's permissive submission model and widespread developer concern about forthcoming AI transparency rules.
- Steam game releases surged to 1500+ monthly starting February 2025, nearly tripling the pre-2017 baseline and representing a dramatic acceleration since Steam Direct removed curation barriers
- The spike coincides with anticipated AI-disclosure requirements expected to take effect by 2027-2028, suggesting developers are rushing to publish before new compliance obligations apply