Itch.io launches a “No AI” filter for its game catalog

By Elena Vasquez

Itch.io’s new “No AI” filter cuts the visible game catalog from more than 1.77 million projects to fewer than 425,000.

The game-hosting site announced that the option appears in the menu while users browse. Itch.io also added the filter to search and other areas it described as “critically lacking.”

The launch drew a pointed challenge in the source report: “Your turn, Steam.” The line puts a concrete feature gap between the stores in plain view.

Users who want to avoid disclosed generative AI content now have a direct control on Itch.io. Steam, a much larger gaming marketplace, has disclosure rules but no equivalent store filter.

That difference matters because disclosure only helps buyers who can find it, and Itch.io has turned an uneven reporting system into a visible browsing choice while Steam still lacks one.

How much of the catalog does the filter remove?

Applying the filter at launch changed the count of displayed projects sharply. More than 1.77 million were visible before the selection; fewer than 425,000 remained after it.

The announced totals use bounds rather than exact counts. Itch.io did not provide an exact catalog total, a daily trend, or a breakdown by creator.

Even so, the scale of the difference is clear. The filter changes the size of the visible set, not just the labels attached to individual games.

Its scope also needs care. Itch.io describes the feature as a filter for games with generative AI disclosures. The announcement does not describe an independent audit of every displayed project.

The platform relies on creators to report AI use, and because Itch.io asks for disclosure when appropriate without stating that every omission carries a penalty, its filter cannot promise complete coverage.

That makes the number a measure of the disclosed, filtered catalog, not a certification that fewer than 425,000 projects contain no generative AI content.

For shoppers, imperfect self-reporting does not erase the benefit of hiding disclosed projects. Itch.io’s point is practical: users should have a way to avoid the unwanted material when they want it.

This is a discovery feature rather than a new enforcement regime. The announcement changes what users can browse. Itch.io’s existing rules still govern what creators may upload and what they must declare.

What does Itch.io’s policy already cover?

No. Itch.io did not announce a blanket ban on generative AI across the site. Itch.io already had policies on the books, and the new filter works alongside them.

The platform says it does not allow “uploading excessive amounts of automatically generated or AI-generated content.” Itch.io treats those actions as spam.

That wording targets excess automated output rather than declaring every use of generative AI prohibited. The filter changes visibility, not the underlying permission to use AI.

Itch.io also asks creators to disclose their use of generative AI when appropriate. The site does not state whether it penalizes a creator for failing to use the tag where disclosure is warranted.

The company further acknowledges that its rules have not stopped “AI slop” from appearing and disappearing on the service. Disclosure and anti-spam rules have not eliminated the practical problem.

That admission explains why a browsing control matters. A policy can tell creators what the platform expects while giving users no immediate way to remove disclosed projects from their view.

The new option provides that separation. Users can keep the broad catalog and apply “No AI” when they browse, search, or use the other surfaces Itch.io has updated.

For creators, the relevant rules remain unchanged: they face a request to disclose appropriate use and a prohibition on excessive automatically generated uploads, with spam as the stated consequence.

For shoppers, the trade-off is clearer. The system can miss undisclosed AI content, as Itch.io acknowledges, while still letting people avoid the projects they already know contain it.

That is a modest product change with a broad effect on discovery. Itch.io now lets a user exclude a large disclosed segment without leaving the marketplace altogether.

Why do game jams complicate the filter?

Itch.io is also a popular site for running game jams. Those events can take sharply different positions on generative AI, ranging from outright prohibition to making AI the central point.

The announcement does not describe one uniform policy across those events. Each jam can set its own stance, while the platform maintains its site-wide disclosure and spam rules.

That variation matters because game projects do not enter a vacuum. They reach buyers through a catalog shaped by both Itch.io’s own requirements and the standards of the communities that made them.

The “No AI” option gives shoppers one consistent browsing control across that mixed catalog. It can remove games covered by the generative AI disclosures Itch.io asks creators to provide.

It does not erase the differences among game jams. Itch.io’s filter addresses visibility at the store level, while event policies continue to shape what participants are allowed to make.

It also cannot repair a missing disclosure. Itch.io does not specify a penalty for an omitted tag, so users cannot assume that every undisclosed project will be caught by the filter.

The announcement therefore adds a partial remedy rather than a complete solution, acknowledging imperfect self-reporting while arguing that a way to avoid known AI content remains worthwhile.

That balance may matter most on a catalog built from many game jams. Projects can appear under different AI rules, and shoppers now have a way to narrow the result.

What does Steam still need to do?

Steam is a much larger gaming marketplace. It already has rules governing generative AI disclosures, but it does not currently let users filter those games out of the store.

The contrast is straightforward. Itch.io combines a disclosure request with a menu and search filter. Steam currently offers the disclosure rules without the corresponding navigation control.

That gap matters at marketplace scale. A shopper on Itch.io can exclude disclosed AI projects with one selection. A shopper on Steam has no equivalent store-wide option.

The report’s “Your turn, Steam” challenge makes the competitive stakes explicit. Itch.io has put a visible product feature against a larger rival’s disclosure rules.

Itch.io does not say Steam plans to add a similar filter. The source gives no release date, feature specification, or promised response from the larger store.

For now, the practical difference is immediate. Itch.io users can hide disclosed AI content from browsing and search. Steam shoppers still cannot reproduce that choice inside the store.

That difference affects discovery because disclosure tells a buyer what a platform requires creators to report, while a filter determines whether that buyer can act on the report without leaving the marketplace.

The feature also gives Itch.io a clearer product story around moderation. Its policy bars excessive generated uploads, requests appropriate disclosure, and now gives users a way to avoid what creators identify as AI content.

The announcement leaves one obvious comparison for Steam. Its disclosure rules could sit beside a filter that lets shoppers act on them.

What changes for players today?

Players on Itch.io gain one concrete control today. Applying “No AI” leaves fewer than 425,000 projects visible, compared with more than 1.77 million before the filter.

The policy backdrop remains mixed. Itch.io requests disclosure where appropriate, treats excessive automated uploads as spam, and still lacks a stated penalty for every missing tag.

The announcement does not claim the filter can detect hidden AI use. Itch.io instead treats creator reporting as imperfect but useful, with the new option serving as a practical layer for shoppers.

The wider test is whether disclosure becomes a default part of game discovery. Itch.io has already combined the two in one marketplace. Steam still has only one side of that pairing.

The announcement leaves Steam with a clear next step—turn its existing generative AI disclosure rules into a store filter—while Itch.io already offers a browsing control that the larger marketplace still lacks.