Smash Brothers' Creator Masahiro Sakurai Complains About AI In Gaming

Steam's Influx Of AI Games Is So Bad Even Sakurai Is Complaining Custom image by Steven Garrard Published Oct 21, 2026, 9:05 PM EDT Steven is a seasoned writer specializing in the video game and technological fields, with years of experience creating reviews, features, and industry analysis. Passionate about the gaming world and its evolving culture, Steven has always wanted to combine his enjoyment of writing and love for gaming in a way that can provide insightful coverage for players and enthusiasts alike. Sign in to your TheGamer account Steam has been at the forefront of the Artificial Intelligence influx in recent years, with a new report showing that the usage of AI tools in new games on the platform has skyrocketed to one in three new releases. While this has made navigating new indie games a nightmare these days, the problem has become so widespread that even developers outside the US have started to take notice. Even just taking a look at some categories like the MOBA section of Steam's Next Fest will see hundreds of games either using AI assets or entirely made using AI platforms, which has managed to catch the eye of none other than the creator of Super Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai, who recently weighed in on the issue himself. The Nintendo Legend Is More Than A Little Concerned As shared by Nintendo Everything on X, Sakurai expressed his concern regarding the "flood of original games" we're already starting to see in an exclusive interview with Denfaminicogamer. Noting that the number of Steam releases has dramatically multiplied from 275 in 2010, all the way to "more than 19,000 annually," Sakurai noted that the number of new and unoriginal games "will only grow from now on, because AI will be used to turn them out." It isn't just AI slop either, as Sakurai also pointed fingers at games that consistently advertise themselves as "XX-Like, or games that resemble another one," which also offers the challenge of trying to stand out by being original enough to make an impact. As if these issues weren't topical enough already, Sakurai even acknowledged the countless cheap imitations of modern releases, with "Games like Supermarket Chaos or Needle in a Haystack Simulator have multiplied like crazy" after their initial viral success. Steam Isn't The Only Victim Of The AI Flood Epic Games As if these weren't bad enough, Sakurai also shared the growing sentiment that it will also make it even harder to keep track of the new releases to separate the good from the bad, which has already become a major problem on console stores. With the Nintendo eShop being filled with low-quality copycats or complete AI slop, it's even harder to sift through games to find the good ones given the more limited search functionality that also affects Xbox and PlayStation when compared to PC. While it remains to be seen how Steam will adapt to the new AI-driven trend in gaming, its competitors, on the other hand, are embracing it entirely, with Epic Games launching a Vibecoded launcher update, which has unsurprisingly already been mocked to death since release. Brand Valve Original Release Date September 12, 2003 Original MSRP (USD) N/A Weight N/A Hardware Versions Steam