AI Games That Won Players Over

AI in video games has sparked plenty of backlash, but several of the titles caught in the controversy are now winning players back. A new study by Spin Casino looked at Steam reviews for 21 games criticized over their use of AI, including AI-generated artwork, voices and translations, hoping to see which ones have gained the most approval.

War Thunder came out on top, with positive reviews rising from 58.2% to 70%, a jump of 11.8 percentage points. Its developer had previously acknowledged the AI-generated texture that sparked the criticism. ARC Raiders was next with a 7.7-point gain, reaching 63.9% positive reviews after partly replacing its controversial synthetic voice lines. Sins of a Solar Empire II took third with a 6-point increase, bringing its approval rate to 77.1%.

A couple of other games stood out too. Liar's Bar landed at an 80.1% positive rating, even with all the criticism over its AI-generated character voices. Heartopia also saw its approval climb to 70%, despite concerns about its use of AI for puzzle artwork and chat translations.

The study compared reviews across two consecutive 90-day periods, from May through October 2026, to see how player opinion has shifted. Not every game bounced back, though. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 saw its approval rate climb to just 37.8%, a sign that some AI-criticized titles still get a mixed reception even as their scores improve.

Here’s how the games with AI elements that won players over compare:

1. War Thunder

• Current approval: 70%

• Prior approval: 58.2%

• Improvement: +11.8%

• AI associations: AI textures (acknowledged)

War Thunder ranks first among games criticized over their use of AI for the rise in how often Steam players recommend it. Its studio has acknowledged the AI texture at the center of that criticism and announced a review in response. In the 90 days through October 27, 70.02% of its user reviews were positive, compared with 58.21% over the 90 days before, an increase of 11.82 percentage points. Fewer players reviewed War Thunder in the latest stretch than in the earlier one, yet more of them recommended it, 18.7K in total

2. ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders comes second among AI-criticized games for growth in player approval on Steam. Its positive share went up 7.74 points, reaching 63.9% in the latest three months after sitting at 56.1% from May to July. Over the latest 90 days, only War Thunder drew more positive Steam reviews than ARC Raiders among games criticized for AI use. Across that same stretch, 2.3K fewer players left a negative review of the game than in the three months before. Part of the synthetic voice work that brought on the AI criticism has been swapped out.

3. Sins of a Solar Empire 2

Sins of a Solar Empire II takes third place among games tied to AI criticism for how much its share of positive Steam reviews improved, by 6.03 points from one 90-day period to the next. Positive reviews made up 71.02% of the total for the period ending in late July and 77.06% for the stretch that came after it. Its latest window brought more reviews than the one before, with 61 more players recommending the game. AI in its interface and localization text drew criticism, with replaced art forming part of the studio's response.

4. Heartopia

Heartopia, whose makers have disclosed using AI for its puzzle art and for translating chat, is fourth among games facing AI criticism that players now rate more favorably on Steam. The share of its reviews that recommend the game is up 4.41 points, moving from 65.6% between May and July to 70.03% in the three months that followed. That current rating sits almost level with War Thunder's over the same months. Since late July, positive reviews of Heartopia have outnumbered negative ones by 508.

5. Liar’s Bar

Liar's Bar rounds out the five AI-criticized games where player approval on Steam climbed most, gaining 3.06 points between the two periods. Even before this rise, more than three in four players who reviewed the game recommended it. Now 80.07% of its recent reviews are positive, a higher share of approval than Sins of a Solar Empire II's current rating. Criticism of Liar's Bar centers on AI in its character voices, a use that is openly disclosed. From late July through October, 655 players gave the game a positive review on Steam.

A spokesperson for Spin Casino commented on the study: 

"A game's store page is a running record, not a snapshot from launch day. Players notice when AI turns up in a game they care about, and plenty of them say so in their reviews. Those reviews shift for many reasons, so a better few months doesn't settle the argument either way. What players tend to want is a straight answer about where AI was used and where it wasn't. That kind of openness won't guarantee a better rating, but it lets each person decide for themselves before they buy."