TL;DR: Steam is banning our AI feature. The upcoming update on April 29th will no longer include access to our AI feature. We will continue to develop this feature outside of Steam. Please follow us on Patreon, X /Twitter or Discord for future updates.
Dear all,
this is a really sad day for us.
In June 2023, we proudly released the experimental version of our AI. This launch was in full compliance with Steam's rules at the time.
After 10 months Steam is now forcing us to remove the generative AI feature in VR HOT.
On January 10, Steam introduced new regulations regarding the use of AI in games distributed on their platform, you can read them HERE.
The thing is, we started communicating with Steam more than a year ago in April 2023. We sought a solution for implementing a subscription-based AI service that adhered to Steam's rules.
However, over the subsequent 9 months, it became apparent that finding a viable solution was proving impossible. Responses to our inquiries took weeks, and at one point, correspondence was even deleted. With our contact person frequently changing, we found ourselves explaining our problems over and over again. Despite offering video calls in hopes of progress, our attempts were ignored.
Well, until January 10. Despite our efforts to explain one more time that our plans aligned with the new guidelines by setting up the AI as an external service independent of Steam's structures, Steam ultimately disagreed and demanded the removal of the AI feature before May 1st.
We have been transparent about the usage of AI in VR HOT from the beginning and have been looking for solutions with Steam for more than a year now. We invested months of work and money into the development of this feature before Steam established these rules.
Steam’s handling of this issue is hurting the product, our business, and game development in general.
We will continue to develop the AI feature for the VR HOT world without Steam. Join us on Discord, Patreon or follow on X (fka Twitter) if you wish to stay updated.
Thanks for your incredible support, feedback, and constructive criticism. We genuinely appreciate it and look forward to continuing our journey together!
Take care
VR HOT