Itch.io sees AI game pages double as generative tools flood indie store

How it works

A website where anyone can upload and sell their own indie games without approval.

A store suddenly twice as busy

An account connected to Itch.io posted on Bluesky that the number of game pages created each day doubled over the past two months ¹. A chart shared alongside the post shows a jump from about 3,000 pages per day around August to nearly 8,000 pages by October .

The post did not explicitly blame artificial intelligence, but when users asked whether generative AI was behind the surge, the Itch.io account answered with tired-face emojis and robot stickers ¹. Several commenters took that as confirmation.

Itch.io describes itself as an open marketplace where any creator can upload and sell a game without going through a strict review process ¹. That openness makes it easy for new listings to appear quickly, but it also means the store cannot block low-effort or automated content before it goes live.

More pages, not more sales

Itch.io was careful to note that the increase in listings has not been matched by an increase in buyers ¹. The store said the number of downloads and purchases has not doubled, which means the extra pages are not creating extra revenue for developers or the platform .

In other words, the store is busier, but nobody is really selling more ¹.

How big is the AI presence?

Itch.io asks creators to tag projects that include AI-made assets in an "AI Disclosure" section, but answering the question is not required to publish a page ¹. Because of that, many AI-assisted or fully AI-generated games appear without any label.

When I checked the "Newest games" list and used the "No AI" filter, the results dropped from 1,772,099 listings to 432,180 ¹. That means roughly 76 percent of the store's visible listings include some form of AI-generated material, according to the self-reported tags .

Browsing recent uploads also shows many thumbnails that look like they were made with image-generation tools rather than drawn by hand ¹.

Other stores are feeling the same pressure

Itch.io is not the only platform struggling with the influx. Valve, which runs the Steam store, has told developers to make their games "less likely to be copied" and to stand out by using Steam's community features more fully ¹.

Both stores face the same dilemma: an open market lets small creators reach players directly, but it also lets anyone publish thousands of near-identical titles made in minutes with AI tools.

For players, the takeaway is simple — filters and tags can help, but they are not foolproof ¹. For developers, the challenge is finding a way to be noticed when the shelves are suddenly twice as full.

This story reports on a trend for information only. It is not advice or encouragement to do any of it.

Corrections and updates

• Corrected on 3 November 2026. An earlier version claimed specific visual cues—smooth lighting, odd hands, generic anime faces—were common warning signs, but the source only notes numerous generative-AI thumbnails without describing those characteristics. It also stated that a flood of cheap content pushes genuine products further down the list, though the source speaks only to doubled page counts without sales growth and implies rather than states that non-AI entries are buried under the volume.

Key facts

• Itch.io game pages doubled from about 3,000 per day in August to nearly 8,000 per day in October
• Downloads and purchases have not doubled despite the surge in listings
• Using the 'No AI' filter removes roughly 76 percent of visible game pages on the store
• AI disclosure tagging is encouraged but not required on Itch.io
• Valve has asked Steam developers to make games harder to copy amid a similar flood of AI-assisted releases

Sources

1. Game pages double on Itch.io as AI games flood the store — gamedeveloper.com