Productivity AutomationInternal OnlyVerified
Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, March 22, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.
A Valve engineer publicly described using ChatGPT like an advanced search engine to find a specific type of matching algorithm he needed for the game Deadlock. He found the Hungarian algorithm this way and it was then built into Deadlock's hero selection matchmaking system. The engineer shared this on social media in October 2024.
Details
Valve engineer Fletcher Dunn posted publicly that he used ChatGPT to search for a bipartite matching algorithm — a type of problem-solving method that assigns players or items to slots based on preference scores. He described the value of the tool as helping him find technical concepts he did not already know the name for, using it as a way to search by description rather than by keyword. The Hungarian algorithm he discovered through this process was implemented in Deadlock's matchmaking within days. Dunn described this as an "internal only" use of AI as a research tool, consistent with Valve's January 2026 policy update that explicitly excludes AI-powered development tools from Steam's disclosure requirements. This is the only confirmed case of a Valve engineer publicly disclosing the use of a large language model for internal development work.
Products affected
Deadlock
Sources & Evidence
News Article
Other practices by Valve Corporation
OtherValve holds multiple patents describing machine learning applications for its hardware products and multiplayer networking. These cover predicting player input to reduce lag in online games, tracking eye gaze direction in VR headsets, and determining the physical position of a VR headset using sensor data. The patents confirm Valve's machine learning R&D extends well beyond anti-cheat.ModerationSteam operates a text filtering system in Steam Chat and in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, automatically blocking or replacing profanity and slurs. Players can adjust how much filtering is applied to their own experience. The system shipped as Steam Labs Experiment 011 before being integrated into the main platform.ModerationEvery post, comment, screenshot, guide, and Workshop item submitted to Steam passes through an automated content check system before it goes public. If the system is uncertain about a submission, it holds the content with the message "awaiting analysis by our automated content check system" while a human review takes place. This applies to all user-generated content, not just reported items.
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