Nexus Mods Requires AI Disclosure as itch.io Expands Filtering
Nexus Mods now requires creators to disclose generative AI use when uploading new mods. Itch.io has expanded generative AI filtering in search and other parts of its storefront, giving players more control over what they see.
What changes on Nexus Mods
In its November 3 announcement, Nexus Mods said authors must declare whether AI was used when submitting a new mod. The platform is not imposing an outright ban on AI-generated mods. Its policy guidance describes a 60-day grace period through January 2, 2027 for specified new requirements, including detailed AI-assisted descriptions and mandatory fork and AI permission tags.
The default AI permission for a creator's work is "Ask Me", which the policy says prohibits anyone from using an author's assets for AI training or project forks without the author's written permission. The policy also says platform permissions do not override copyleft licences, such as GPL, already attached to the underlying code or assets. It sets three labels: AI-Generated, where AI produced most of the code, voices, dialogue, music or other assets; AI Media, for AI promotional art, thumbnails or page descriptions; and AI Assisted, for human-led mods where AI played a supporting role, such as texture upscaling. Authors who choose AI Assisted must list the AI tools they used and which outputs remain in the final mod, and must update the statement when an update adds AI components. Nexus said mods tagged AI-generated received 2.13% of Donation Points so far this year. That figure measures a share of points, not the quality of the mods or the proportion of all uploads.
What itch.io changed
Itch.io expanded generative AI disclosure filtering to additional places, including search results. It already required creators to tag generative AI use in games and game assets, and has extended the disclosure to tabletop games, soundtracks, books and comics; creators must now complete it to create new pages or edit existing ones, GamesRadar reported. The platform has had an AI spam clause in its quality guidelines for more than two years, aimed at excessive uploads of automatically generated or AI-generated content used to mass produce product pages, according to GamesRadar. The platform also said it deleted a couple of terabytes of AI-generated material under its spam rules; it did not specify exactly which files were removed, according to GamesRadar.
The Indus Pulse previously covered the rise in itch.io game listings. The later changes add a moderation and discovery response to that story.
What to watch
Disclosure and filtering depend on accurate labels and enforcement. Players can use the available filters, while creators should check each platform's current rules and permissions. Neither the number of removed files nor the Donation Points figure establishes how much AI-generated work is present across the platforms.