this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/49263187

Tim Sweeney claims it’s a “Scarlet Letter” which makes players “try to kill the game”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has criticised rival Valve for forcing studios to disclose when they use AI in game development.

Epic recently showed how it was integrating AI into Unreal Engine 6.

Time Sweeney said:

“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.

“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.”

Which is totally ignoring the factor that the user should know about the purchase it makes and be able to decide for themselves. Transparency for the player is not a bad thing.

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[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 hours ago
[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 21 points 6 hours ago

Tim Sweeney with a garbage take, seems like a normal day.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 30 points 8 hours ago

Super strong “If I told you who I really was you’d never have slept with me!” energy.

It’s called consent. If people wouldn’t want to engage with the content unless they were misled in some way then that amounts to manipulation and a violation of trust. Looks like Epic Games just told the whole world that they would lie to their customers if they felt like the truth would give them too much choice.

Fuck ‘em.

[–] cley_faye@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

"Oh no, informing people allows them to decide for themselves, we can't have that! I, sweeney whiney, must protect the world from informed decisions!"

  • Tim Sweeney, wearing is burger king cardboard crown screaming in front of his mirror alone.
[–] winkledinkle@sh.itjust.works 17 points 8 hours ago

If the game isn't made by people, I wish it a very merry get fucked and die.

Stfu sweeney

[–] Kissaki@feddit.org 27 points 10 hours ago

Sugar labels on food didn't stop their sales 🤷

I don't see it. Disclosure is always a good thing.

Some people care, and they should have the option to choose. Not be misled, ignored, or lied to.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago
[–] Toga77@lemmy.world 13 points 9 hours ago

It's really irresponsible for Tim Sweeney to be a such a fucking moron but he hasn't stopped that yet.

[–] cyclonedusk@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

That dickhead wouldn't understand responsibility if it tattooed a scarlet R onto his chest.

[–] cecinestpasunecommunication@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

He wouldnt understand responsibility if it fucked him in every orifice for like nine hours straight and read him to sleep while cuddling after.

Or choked him with his own intestines or whatever thing I'm sure wed all rather imagine happening to him that might not necessarily aid understanding in an easily legible way.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 19 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

So they can't not use AI because they'll lose out to studios that do (not sure about that one but whatever) but if they do use AI no one will buy the game.

Pick one

Okay but we gotta use it. If we don't use it we're not cool.

[–] Professorozone@lemmy.world 10 points 10 hours ago

It's kind of the MAGA mentality.

[–] Kazel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 18 hours ago

It is irresponsible to post such shit from the sweeney son of a bitch

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 29 points 21 hours ago

Nobody loves you Epic Games, fuck off.

[–] ModernRisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 52 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The more I read about Epic Games and their CEO Tim Sweeney, the more I dislike the company and the guy.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 26 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

They give you lot of reasons to. For me it was a personal thing when I really started to hate Epic Games. 2019 Epic purchased the studio of Rocket League, when the game was in a hype phase and I played and enjoyed it very much on my Linux system. Shortly after they removed the Linux support for the game and then they also removed it from Steam as well. Due to an update of the game it was no longer viable to support it on Linux they said.

This really really bugged me on a personal level. Today I think the game is playable on Linux, I don't know exactly. But it requires Epic Games Launcher and probably account on them. To me the game is dead. And Epic killed it (for me).

[–] MBech@feddit.dk 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I still only play it through steam?

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

~~No offense, but did you not read what I wrote?~~ Edit: Sorry, that was rude by me. They had removed the game in the past from Steam and the Linux support. I think years later they added Linux support again, but I already moved on. While we seem to be able to play through Steam, the Epic Games Launcher still runs in the background and an Epic account is needed too (I think, is that true?). And no one can purchase it on Steam anymore.

[–] MBech@feddit.dk 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

All I know is, I bought it on release day on Steam, have played it throughout the whole epic thing and still do, through Steam. I don't have epic installed on my pc. I don't know about linux support, I don't use it. It is however true that you can't get it on steam anymore, but it is free on Epic. I might have linked my steam profile to epic in order to play, not sure though, it's been a while.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 hours ago

When I say you need Epic Games launcher, then I don't mean you have to install it yourself. Usually these launchers (like Ubisoft or Rockstar) are installing it in the background and require additional resources. As said I'm not sure if this is true for the Steam version here too. If you don't play on Linux, then you didn't have the Linux issues then I guess. That was my main complaint, as the they took away the native Linux version and made it for months or longer unplayable for me. And that was a time when I had a lot of fun before Epic ruined it for me. If it worked for you the whole time, then good for you.

[–] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 12 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Yes! This is exactly why I too hate epic. They could throw a free game at me, I'd still buy it on steam. I have no intention of going where I'm not wanted.

And I was just getting good at rocket league

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[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

If I am buying an "AI" game I'll pay a couple of bucks and no more as there are no labour costs involved. If I'm buying from a company that supports human beings, I'll pay about 50-100 bucks, depending on the game.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world -1 points 8 hours ago

This is such a terrible take.

Just because AI was used doesnt mean there's wasn't immense amount of human hours put into it.

These flags cover more than 'the entire game was vibe coded'

[–] Kirp123@lemmy.world 253 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Fuck you Tim Sweeney. Valve is right for putting that info up so people can make informed purchases.

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[–] renegadespork@lemmy.jelliefrontier.net 214 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Transparency so customers can make informed decisions is “irresponsible”? What a garbage take.

If using AI is a “scarlet letter” that makes people hate your game then don’t use it?! The willful ignorance to customer preference is staggering.

[–] TheGoldenV@lemmy.world 92 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The same people unironically: let the free market decide

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

let the free market decide

But only if the 'free' market chooses me, otherwise, it's wrong and everything should be changed!

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 hours ago

Let the ~~free~~ captured market decide.

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[–] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml -1 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

There is definitely an overreaction to AI use, when specifically games can make very good use of it. Smaller teams can create better games, and using smaller AI models to run on a GPU during playing could enable some amazing new features for dialogue or dynamic storytelling.

If there is any place where an AI hallucinating and riffing isn't a problem it's gaming.

What, in the past six years of hype bullshit, leads you to justify this profoundly charitable position?

[–] auzy1@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

Completely missing the point.. Given that Artists work was basically used to train AI, a lot of them in particular would be hesitant to pay for something which possibly uses some of their work they didn't get paid for.

Also, when I as a consumer see AI has been used, it is closer to suggesting they took shortcuts to make the game

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 125 points 1 day ago

And this, Tim, is why I spend most of my money at Steam.

This may shock you, but proudly parading that you want to fuck over consumers at every opportunity is not good incentive.

[–] MirrorGiraffe@piefed.social 18 points 1 day ago

I'm making a game and I just ai for parts of the code and and for assets currently. I make it because I'm 43 and been programming my entire life and yet never took the time to make a game.

If I ever were to release it on any store, I'd replace the assets with human made and declare that I've had LLM assistance in coding, no matter if there's a role about it or not.

Basically I know it's important to some people and I don't want them to accidentally spend money on something they hate. It would be like sneaking meat into a vegetarian dish.

[–] kraxla@piefed.social 0 points 9 hours ago

just make a good game. I dont care if it is made with or by AI.

[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 14 points 23 hours ago

Man, Sweeney's been on a roll lately, hasn't he? Too bad I've got no idea what he's talking about most of the time

[–] geekwithsoul@piefed.social 53 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The best thing about Tim Sweeney is that he consistently has the most wrong take on any issue. He's like the Lou Gehrig of being an idiot.

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[–] gedfromgont@piefed.ca 76 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also Sweeney "why do people like Steam more than the Epic store?"

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[–] flamingos@feddit.uk 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I wonder why the man who makes money off engine royalties might have a problem with something that can dramatically affect sales after stuffing that engine with the crap people hate.

[–] shittydwarf@piefed.ca 42 points 1 day ago
[–] binux@sh.itjust.works 41 points 1 day ago

Bitch-boy CEO whining about rival company that epitomizes everything he doesn’t have at every chance he gets, very typical behaviour just carry on

[–] guynamedzero@piefed.zeromedia.vip 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What kind of looney tunes universe does this motherfucker think he lives in

[–] Twig@sopuli.xyz 2 points 9 hours ago

The one with Trump as president

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 24 points 1 day ago

Interesting that he frames LLMs as both a tool that he needs to use to compete, whilst also framing their use as a scarlet letter that will tank sales if he uses them.

[–] spaceracoon@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

All of this together is why there is so much media attack on Steam. Just think of the amount of fuckery we would be subjected to, if Steam was out of the equation.

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[–] tabular@lemmy.world 52 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

"We must do X at any cost to the user because others will do it and get the money"

This mentality has driven the games industry to become psychologically manipulative, subscription battleass and absolutely proprietary.

Maybe the irresponsibility is in ourselves for giving those game companies money.

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