Game Oracle finds 'AI stigma' on Steam can cut reviews by about 53%

Market data analyst Ross Burton at Game Oracle studied 9,879 games released between Jan. and Oct. 2025, filtering out spam, purely commercial releases and free-to-play titles. In that sample, 17.9% of games disclosed using AI. Overall, titles that disclosed AI use tended to fare slightly worse: non-AI games had more reviews, fewer had no reviews at all, and among games with at least 100 reviews the median rating for AI-using games was about 4% lower.

After controlling for publisher, developer experience and game type, developers using AI saw roughly a 53% reduction in reviews compared with those who did not. The report argues an unmeasured "X-factor" would need to nearly triple the odds (2.7x) of AI adoption while independently causing a 22% reduction in review counts to explain the effect away.

The penalty is especially strong for larger, more accomplished developers—AI made no difference for low-quality games, but the so-called "AI Stigma" severely punished high-potential titles.

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