AI-generated content invading the world of game development is an understandably touchy topic, and it’s now causing headaches for developers working with Godot, a popular open-source game engine. The lead maintainer of the project, Rémi Verschelde, has vented his frustration with “AI slop” pull requests, adding that it has become “increasingly draining and demoralizing” to deal with for maintainers and reviewers such as himself.

As an open-source engine, users are free to submit their own code and changes to Godot, but an increasing amount of AI-generated content being submitted to the codebase on GitHub is proving problematic. Whether you like it or not, AI is becoming increasingly common in game development – even Unity is pushing it (and is soon unveiling new AI tech).

“AI slop” pull requests have become annoying for Godot maintainers

Game designer Adriaan de Jongh highlighted the problem, noting that “changes often make no sense,” and even pointed out that the very users submitting this code don’t understand the AI-generated code. De Jongh calls it “a massive time waster” for those reviewing such content. These pull requests (PR) are reviewed before being added to the main codebase.

Verschelde says reviewers are “having to second-guess” every pull request from new contributors, “multiple times per day”. For an open-source game engine that prides itself on welcoming new people to the development, it’s not really in the reviewers’ spirit to dismiss new contributors. However, with the AI code becoming a burden, Verschelde says, “I don’t know how long we can keep it up”.

If you haven’t heard of Godot, then perhaps we can point towards some popular games you may recognize that utilize its engine: Brotato, Cruelty Squad, and Dome Keeper. Those interested in supporting the Godot project can donate here. Verschelde says this will help “deal with the slop” by paying for more maintainers.

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Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.