Pearl Abyss apologizes for AI-Generated artwork in Crimson Desert

Few games have gathered as much pre-launch hype as Crimson Desert has over the past few months. Gamers were excited to experience the vast open world with tons of interactive elements, and that excitement translated to sales as well. However, the excitement soon took a slight downturn as AI-generated artwork was found in the game.

The artwork depicted a battle scene filled with mounted soldiers; however, the horses' bodies were somewhat blended with those of the soldiers. This was a telltale sign that generative AI was being used, leaving many gamers with a sour taste in their mouths. More egregiously, however, Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss did not use Steam's generative AI disclosure on the store page.

After facing backlash, Pearl Abyss has issued a statement through the @CrimsonDesert_ X account. The company accepts that the artwork was AI-generated; however, it was created early in the development process for experimental purposes and was not intended for the final release.

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"During development, some 2D visual props were created as part of early-stage iteration using experimental AI generative tools. These assets helped us rapidly explore tone and atmosphere in the earlier phases of production. However, our intention has always been for any such assets to be replaced, following final work and review by our art and development teams, with work that aligned with our quality standards and creative direction.

Following reports from our community, we have identified that some of these assets were unintentionally included in the final release. This is not in line with our internal standards, and we take full responsibility for it."

Moreover, Pearl Abyss took responsibility for its actions and acknowledged a lack of transparency. They are analyzing the game for any additional AI-generated content that may have slipped through and will roll out an update soon.

"We also acknowledge that we should have clearly disclosed our use of AI. While these tools were primarily used during early production, with the expectation that these assets would be replaced prior to release, we recognize that this does not excuse the lack of transparency.

We sincerely apologize for these oversights.

We are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of all in-game assets and are taking steps to replace any affected content. Updated assets will be rolled out in upcoming patches."

- Pearl Abyss on X

While the apology was generally well received by the X audience, a subset of gamers was also critical of it. Some gamers said there was no need for an apology, as every game will use some form of generative AI going forward. Many also argued that using generative AI for background props, such as paintings, was not inherently evil and could be used constructively to accelerate development.