As players began making their way through Crimson Desert, a sprawling RPG adventure released last week, they started noticing that the game featured multiple examples of AI-generated imagery.
Here's one:
And another:
And another:
In response to the allegations the team's developers at Pearl Abyss have issued both an apology and a statement attempting to explain the presence of the images in the game, posting on Twitter:
We would like to address questions regarding the use of AI in Crimson Desert.
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.
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. In parallel, we are reviewing and strengthening our internal processes to ensure greater transparency and consistency in how we communicate with players moving forward.
I'm sorry, but just like we've seen in every other example lately of AI-generated imagery being found undisclosed after a game has already been released and bought by people, that 'explanation' can fuck right off.
It is harder to use this stuff for placeholders than the decades-old practice of just...using placeholders! A placeholder image is supposed to look weird and bad, as Obsidian's Josh Sawyer explains below, because that makes it easier to find and replace when adding the finishing touches to a game. By using AI-generated imagery you're adding extra (lake-boiling) steps to a problem that never needed solving.
Placeholder assets in a game should look obnoxiously temporary, so obvious that no one would mistake it for the final asset. In past games we've used the doge dog (rip) as an icon, hot pink versions of characters, our CEO's head, etc. If you use a temp asset that seems passable, it may stay there.
— Josh Sawyer (@jesawyer.bsky.social) 2026-03-22T20:07:53.846Z
And having users find the images scattered throughout a game undisclosed also, as we've discussed with The Alters, makes you wonder where else there's undisclosed AI use! So these specific images have been found by players, great, but what else in such a huge game has been made or cooked by a machine? They can say they're auditing the game's content all they want, but you'd have to have been born yesterday to place your full trust in them after this.
I've been playing the game for the last week and not enjoying it at all (my full impressions are coming soon), with one of my biggest complaints being that for all its scale the whole thing feels really lifeless. I guess I now know at least one small reason why that's the case.
