Itch.io, the open storefront where a lot of indie and hobbyist games first appear, has started cleaning house. The site has deleted what it calls "a couple terabytes of AI slop", extended its generative AI disclosure to more kinds of uploads, and added AI disclosure filtering to its search results, according to reports from GamesRadar+ and Kotaku.
Itch.io announced the changes in social media posts that could not be checked directly for this article, so the details below are attributed to the two outlets quoting them.
What was deleted
GamesRadar+ reports that itch.io posted "Just deleted a couple terabytes of AI slop", and that exactly what was removed isn't clear. A follow-up post, as quoted by GamesRadar+, said: "Just because you can upload 10 terabytes of poorly optimized AI generated models doesn't mean you should upload 10 terabytes of poorly optimized AI generated models." The same post reminded creators that the site has had an AI spam clause in its quality guidelines for over two years, GamesRadar+ reports.
According to GamesRadar+, that clause targets "uploading excessive amounts of automatically generated or AI-generated content", and itch.io's definition of spam can include projects "predominantly created by algorithms or AI with minimal human intervention" and "multiple iterations of essentially the same content". Kotaku also reports that itch.io said bulk uploads of near-identical AI games are against its content guidelines and that it de-indexed one such batch from search.
Disclosure now covers more than games
Itch.io already asked creators to declare generative AI use for games and game assets. GamesRadar+ and Kotaku both report that the requirement now extends to tabletop games, books, comics and soundtracks. GamesRadar+ says creators must fill in the disclosure to create new pages or edit existing ones, and Kotaku reports that it applies even when AI output was edited afterwards.
A filter for players
The change most players will notice is in search. GamesRadar+ and Kotaku both quote itch.io's November 3 post: "In order to better control what you see, we're adding Generative AI disclosure filtering to few more places on the site where it was critically lacking, including our search results page." GamesRadar+ reports that itch.io shared a screenshot of a new "No AI" option under Genre/Tag for searches across games, assets and other listings.
Why now
Kotaku frames a surge in uploads as the backdrop. It reports that the conversation began when itch.io posted a graph showing that game pages created per day had roughly doubled between August 3 and October 30, from just over 3,000 to more than 6,000, without a matching rise in downloads or purchases. According to Kotaku, itch.io said the increase was driven by first-time uploaders rather than bulk uploaders.
Both outlets set this against Steam's own struggle with AI-generated games: GamesRadar+ points to AI clones crowding Valve's store, and Kotaku notes that Steam Next Fest saw more demos than ever, with generative AI a significant factor. Kotaku adds that some users have asked itch.io to ban AI content outright, and that moderating such a ban would be costly.
Riley's take: A filter beats a ban for a site like itch.io, because it hands the choice to players without asking moderators to play detective on every single upload. It only works if creators fill the disclosure in honestly, though, so the real test is whether itch.io keeps deleting the stuff that pretends otherwise.
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