Call Of Duty’s generative AI disclosure reveals a glaring issue with Steam’s policies

Valve need to make their policy more granular if they want it to be useful

Image credit:Activision

A few weeks back, a new AI generated content disclosure appeared on the Call Of Duty Steam page , reading “our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets”. This followed several months of community speculation over whether the FPS was using such tools to fever-dream up cosmetics, and a Wired report (paywalled) in which an anonymous artist alleged that the ‘Yokai’s Wrath’ premium pack used genAI assets, via PC Gamer .

As a disclosure, it’s better than nothing, but only barely. While the admission of any GenAI presence is useful to those of us who would rather avoid it entirely, the description “help develop some in game assets” tells us very little. So who’s at fault here? Are Activision skirting Valve’s requirement to be purposely vague, or do Valve’s requirements themselves invite vagueness?

First, some background. I first encountered COD community GenAI suspicions in a Twitter thread about a zombie Santa. The loading screen featured a Crypt Keeper-esque Kris Kringle with six fingers. GenAI is famously inept at counting digits , although I did see some pushback at the time from people who reckoned the ’extra’ finger was zombie flesh sloughing off the bone. No such claims were made about this promotional image , however, which shows a gloved hand with six fingers, plus a bonus thumb.

Image credit:Activision

Then, there was the Hard Breakup calling card. “I am so disappointed,” wrote Reddit user Poodonkus last year. “I had heard of a cool pin-up style calling card for completing this challenge, but I wasn’t expecting to find…glaring hallmarks of an unrefined AI generated image.”

“Treyarch, look into this,” they continued. “I don’t deserve to be rewarded with half-hearted soulless fake art after completing a challenge this difficult. Remake this calling card, hell trace it if you have to. But give us players more respect than this.”

I can’t know whether Poondunkus’s disappointment with Hard Breakup was an aesthetic issue or because the GenAI hallmarks reveal a lack of human touch and care, but such images say nothing if not “we don’t value this enough to design it ourselves, but we expect you to value it enough to grind for it”. And this is where, I think, we run into the limits of Valve’s policy and the leeway it gives publishers to be ambiguous to the point of uselessness.

“Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets,” reads Activision’s disclosure. What does “help” mean here? What does “develop” mean? What about “some”? Howsabout “assets”? Do they mean the loading screen, which is tacky and diminishes the game’s overall look but is otherwise comparatively inconsequential to players? Or do they mean the calling card, which evidently has value to some as a digital object they’ve worked to obtain? Or do they mean entire maps, skins, weapons? Which genAI tools have they used, exactly?

Activision’s Steam disclosure could mean anything from loading screens to levels, so let’s recap what it is that Valve’s policy actually asks for here. The policy change was made public last January , following Valve taking “some time to learn about the fast-moving and legally murky space”. It asks game submissions to detail “any kind of content (art/code/sound/etc) created with the help of AI tools during development.”

Also publicly available is the following high-level description of the content survey publishers and developers are required to submit alongside their game.

Image credit:Valve

Anyone who submits a game to Steam is required to fill out a form that includes sections on “general”, “mature”, and “generative artificial intelligence content”. That last section is split into two categories: pre-generated and live-generated. These sections are preceded by the following description:

“If your game uses AI services during development or incorporates AI services as a part of the product, this section will require you to describe that implementation in detail.”

Here’s said section from the actual form, which was passed to us by a developer.

Image credit:Valve

As you can see, the overwhelming majority of the section focuses on the details of live-generated AI content, with comparatively little required for what Valve call pre-generated. The granular tickbox that lists specific assets like text, textures, voice, and music is reserved for live-gen only, whereas pre-gen is relegated to a single tick and description form at the bottom. The description is the only part of the genAI disclosure that players are able to read.

And this is how you end up with Activision getting away with “our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets”. Based on the form, there’s no requirement they publicly specify what these assets actually are, and so players are forced to contend with that most insidious side-effect of GenAI: the constant vigilant paranoia that comes from not knowing whether something is or isn’t created by another person. Am I looking at GenAI art, or just art I don’t like? Is this card I’ve worked so hard to get actually the work of a developer?

The form also notes that Valve will provide players with Steam Overlay tools to highlight “inappropriate, or copyright infringing” generated AI material. It’s not clear what these are, but it’s easy to imagine Steam support staff facing a rash of false positives from players who have been given incomplete information about how a game uses generated AI. The topic of generative AI copyright infringement is vast and knotty, even with full disclosure about the materials used for generation - if you’re interested, you could start by reading Mike Cook’s piece on the legalities of generative AI from last year.

We might contend that generating most assets is less harmful than stealing entire skin designs from artists, as COD allegedly has multiple times . We could say that, as yet, this doesn’t present enough of a sweeping issue for Valve to take another look at their policy - as Aftermath’s Nathan Grayson notes , “those who analyze Steam and similar platforms for a living aren’t sounding the alarm bells about an AI slop flood just yet. The bigger issue Steam developers face is the sheer number of high-effort, good games that come out on a daily basis”.

Still, as it stands, Valve’s disclosure policy seems overwhelmingly tailored towards covering their own legal bases, as opposed to keeping players informed about what aspects of their games are AI generated. And if Activision are content to use generative AI tools - even while laying off quadruple-digit numbers of humans - then why are they being so cagey about its actual use cases? If GenAI is ‘here to stay’ - if it’s ’the future’, as its evangelists are so keen to repeat ad parrotitum - then why not tell us exactly what that future looks like?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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