House House acknowledges using generative AI tools during final stages of Big Walk

Australian indie studio House House has acknowledged using large language models during the final stretch of development for its multiplayer puzzle game Big Walk. The developer estimated that well under 0.1% of the game's code was tied to this assistance, stating it turned to chatbots primarily to investigate technical problems, tackle bugs, and research third-party code. In one instance, the studio used about 10 lines of code after it was unable to resolve an issue manually or by consulting a Unity engineer. [2][3]

The admission followed intense debate surrounding submissions for the Independent Games Festival awards, where 19 jurors declared they would refuse to vote for games developed with generative AI. Jurors argued that programming is a creative craft that deserves protection from models trained without creator consent. Although House House did not list the tool use on Steam—noting the storefront does not require disclosures for code or chatbot use—the studio added a statement to its website FAQ after the matter became public. [2][3]

House House stressed that its disclosure should not be seen as an endorsement of AI, expressing concern that sharing such details could normalize the technology. The developer called its lack of an internal AI policy a failure, apologized to those trying to limit the technology's harms, and promised to implement a more comprehensive policy in the future. [2][3]