Indie developer will remove his game from Steam because of AI use — his girlfriend convinced him of the technology’s “unethical” nature
Indie developer will remove his game from Steam because of AI use — his girlfriend convinced him of the technology’s “unethical” nature. The author realized that free image generation has another side.
- indie developer Eero Lane released his free game Hardest on Steam in the summer. Genre‑wise it is a card “roguelike” in the spirit of “Rock, paper, scissors”, but with additional effects such as time slowdown.
- On January 11 Lane posted a message announcing that he will remove Hardest from Steam at the end of the month due to AI usage.
- The author used the technology to generate illustrations in the game: he was attracted by the fact that many images can be created for free.
- However, Lane recently realized that “AI isn’t entirely free”, as the technology has a “big impact on the economy and the environment”. He admitted that some AI company could use the mere existence of his game as a reason to invest more in artificial intelligence, “draining resources from the economy and ordinary workers”.
I wrote the code myself, so in the future I can make a new game with real assets if I want. But the existence of Hardest in its current form is an insult to players and developers. The only ethical solution is removal from Steam. It was my girlfriend, whom I’ve been dating for a month, who helped me understand all this.
Eero Lane, indie developer
- User opinions in the comments to the post were split: some supported Lane’s decision, while others tried to prove that AI has already become the norm for development processes.
- Hardest received 54% positive reviews on Steam: players noted a decent concept but complained about a less than optimal implementation.
Ratio of positive and negative votes: 3/0
