Last updated: November 11, 2026.
Yes, House House says large language models were used during the final stretch of Big Walk development, but only sparingly. The studio estimates that well under 0.1% of the game’s code had anything to do with that usage, and says generative AI was not used in any other context when making the game.
Quick answer: Big Walk did use LLM chatbots for a small number of difficult technical problems and bugs. House House says some chatbot-generated snippets were used as starting points and then modified, with total LLM-related code estimated at well under 0.1%.
What did House House say about AI in Big Walk?
House House added a detailed AI disclosure to the official Big Walk FAQ after the topic became a matter of public interest. The developer says LLMs were used near the end of development to help research technical problems involving third-party code.
The studio’s own estimate is that well under 0.1% of the game’s code was connected to this use. It also states that generative AI was not used elsewhere in the game’s development.
What kind of AI work was used?
The clearest example given by House House involves a rendering-performance problem in Unity URP. The team wanted to cull shadow casters based on distance from the camera, but could not find a workable solution through its own research or after speaking with a Unity engineer.
House House says it then asked an LLM chatbot, which proposed a possible fix after several dead ends. The final solution required substantial modification and represented roughly 10 lines of code inside URP.
Why is Big Walk AI usage trending?
The disclosure became controversial after Independent Games Festival jurors publicly discussed refusing to support games that use generative AI. That turned what House House describes as minimal technical assistance into a broader debate about whether any use of generative AI should affect awards, reviews or disclosure requirements.
Google Trends data on November 10–11 showed a sharp search spike for terms related to “Big Walk AI usage,” especially in Australia.
Why was AI use not disclosed on Steam?
House House says it did not disclose the chatbot/code use on Steam because the platform does not request disclosure of code or chatbot usage. The studio says it originally wrote a version of the disclosure for its IGF submission and later published it in the FAQ because the issue had become publicly relevant.
Did generative AI create Big Walk’s art or writing?
According to the official FAQ, no. House House says generative AI was not used in any other context when making the game beyond the limited LLM assistance described for technical challenges and bugs.
What will House House change?
The developer says Big Walk was built without an internal AI usage policy and calls that absence a failure. It says it plans to create a more comprehensive policy going forward.
Why this matters beyond one game
The controversy shows how broad the phrase “made with AI” has become. AI-generated art, writing, voice, code suggestions and technical debugging can all be grouped together even though they involve very different levels of automation and creative substitution.
For studios, the practical lesson is that even small uses of AI coding assistants may now need explicit internal policies and disclosure decisions before launch, awards submissions or press scrutiny.
FAQ
Did Big Walk use AI?
Yes. House House says LLMs were used sparingly for technical challenges and bugs during the final stretch of development.
How much of Big Walk was made with AI?
The studio estimates well under 0.1% of the code had anything to do with its LLM usage.
Was AI used for the art?
House House says generative AI was not used in any other context when making the game.
Why is Big Walk AI usage controversial?
The disclosure coincided with debate among indie-game jurors and players over whether any use of generative AI should affect award eligibility or consumer trust.
Sources
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