Itch.io removes AI content and adds disclosure filters to its PC storefront

Itch.io removed thousands of AI games, marketplace items, and developer asset packs from its PC storefront on November 2, 2026, and added generative AI disclosure filters to search results on November 3, 2026.

Itch.io posted “Just deleted a couple terabytes of AI slop,” while Shacknews characterized the removed material as an alleged 10 terabytes. IGN Middle East reported that Itch confirmed removing thousands of AI games and asset packs due to spam. The platform said the removals targeted mass-generated uploads under a quality-guideline clause that had existed for more than two years. Daily game-page creation had doubled during the previous two months, itch.io said on November 1, 2026.

The company does not ban generative AI content outright. Itch.io opposes bulk low-level AI projects and allows AI-generated work when the project description states it plainly and the content meaningfully improves the experience for users. Multiple iterations of the same thing with slight variations are against the rules, and AI content must have some sense of curation.

The new filtering puts generative AI disclosure controls in search results and other parts of the site where itch.io said they were critically lacking. The company announced it was “adding Generative AI disclosure filtering to few more places on the site where it was critically lacking.” Users can filter AI content out of search results. The disclosure system began with a November 20, 2024 developer update from itch.io administrator leafo.

Answering yes on the disclosure form applies the AI Generated tag plus sub-tags covering Graphics and Code as well as Sound and Text & Dialog. Answering no applies the No AI tag, which is assigned solely when a creator explicitly answers no. Pages lacking a completed disclosure do not receive the No AI tag, and lying about tagging makes a page ineligible for discovery-page indexing.

itch.io required AI disclosure on November 3, 2026 for new or edited pages covering tabletop games, physical games, books, comics, and soundtracks. The requirement had already applied to game assets for the two years prior to the expansion. Failure to tag the newly mandatory categories may result in delisting, which removes a page from the discovery index while leaving it reachable by direct URL and from the creator’s profile.

itch.io’s AI Assisted browse page lists projects showing generative-AI use. The policy covers generative systems producing text, images, or music through large-dataset learning, such as large language and image-generation models. Disclosure is not required for traditional systems such as NPC pathfinding, enemy behavior, procedural generation, fuzzy logic, dynamic difficulty, and dynamic music if they run on self-contained algorithms without external large datasets.

Itch.io’s quality guidelines have included an AI-spam clause for more than two years, defining automated mass production of product pages as spam. The clause covers algorithm- or AI-made projects with little human input, randomly generated content lacking curated design, and repeated near-identical generated iterations. The site’s terms warn against uploading excessive quantities of automatically generated or AI-generated material, and rules promise delisting and bans for submissions that inaccurately disclose AI use.

Engadget reported that the filter cut browsing results from 1.77 million to 425,000, showing the tool’s immediate effect. The anti-spam rule targets mass production, whereas disclosure sorts a project’s generative-AI material, and each mechanism serves a distinct purpose.

itch.io’s approach to AI is stricter than Valve’s, according to IGN Middle East. Steam maintains an AI disclosure policy on store pages, yet Valve does not cap AI developer access. Valve told developers to make their game stand out among the detritus rather than relying on platform limits.

Steam developers have seen their games copied by AI immediately after sharing development progress. IGN Middle East cited this as a particular problem alongside Valve’s advice to add features and personality. Tom Giardino advised building a game with unique features, personality, and creativity instead of depending on one easily copied mechanic. Epic Games is all-in on AI, and its boss Tim Sweeney has criticized Valve’s AI disclosure policy.

Steam requires AI-use disclosures but offers no store filter to hide those games. Game jams on itch.io vary widely in their AI policies, with some banning it and others centering on it. Engadget reported that itch.io rules have not stopped AI slop from appearing and disappearing from the service, and Engadget said this preceded the new filtering addition. Engadget said even with self-reporting, having the option to avoid slop is useful.

itch.io requests disclosure of generative AI where appropriate yet provides no stated penalty for omitting a deserved tag. Disclosure of generative AI use falls to the uploader on itch.io. Shacknews said rules promise delisting and bans for submissions that inaccurately disclose AI use.