Itch.io exposes the surge of low-quality AI content in gaming marketplaces.

A quick look at Steam or itch.io reveals a gaming landscape overflowing with new titles, largely due to the rise of generative AI. This surge is making it increasingly difficult for indie developers with handcrafted games to gain visibility. Recent insights shared on social media by itch.io shed light on the severity of the situation.

As a platform designed for indie creators, itch.io allows nearly anyone to sell or distribute their games, showcasing a variety of student projects and game jam entries alongside more established indie titles, often featured in charity bundles. Given its accessibility, the new data from itch.io raises significant concerns.

On October 31, itch.io announced via Bluesky that the daily creation of game pages has doubled since August 2026. The data indicates that the daily average was around 3,000 back then, but as of October 30, it has surged to over 6,000. Further comments from itch.io suggest that a large portion of these new pages are AI-generated projects.

From a more optimistic perspective, one might argue that an increase in game listings could lead to a rise in downloads and sales. However, that’s not the case. Although no specific graph was provided, itch.io confirmed in a follow-up that “The number of downloads and purchases has not doubled” since August 2026.

For those planning to release a game on itch.io soon, this trend is troubling. The influx of new titles, many likely produced with generative AI, is overwhelming the platforms that indie developers rely on for visibility, without driving any significant audience growth. Steam faces a similar issue, with many demos from Steam Next Fest being overshadowed or outcompeted by AI-generated games.

Unless platforms like itch.io and Steam take decisive action to monitor and limit the release of generative AI content (itch.io already requires developers to disclose AI usage), this challenge will continue to affect the gaming industry.

Fans anticipating the Drunken Goddess Reflux demo may find themselves disappointed.