Crimson Desert developers address use of 'AI' assets in game

Developers at Pearl Abyss, the studio behind Crimson Desert, have shared a statement after AI generated assets have been found in the game.

Crimson Desert is an open-world action role-playing game from the South Korean studio which, before this, was best known for its MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) Black Desert Online.

The game released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 19 March and it's been proving really popular.

However AI generated assets were quickly spotted in the game which led to backlash on social media.

Assets spotted include paintings and one of those who found an example claimed they look like "AI art from a few years ago".

In response, Pearl Abyss developers issued a statement on the official Crimson Desert X / Twitter account which included confirmation the game "unintentionally" had AI generated assets still in and apologised.

The post said: "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 recognise that this does not excuse the lack of transparency.

"We sincerely apologise 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."

This was reposted in the Games Subreddit and gamers have been having their say on the apology.

One said: "Seems like pretty much one to one the same justification the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs gave. Will be interesting to see whether the reactions will be the same. For some reason, I doubt it."

A second skeptically said: "They always do 'those were placeholders when they get caught."

But a third countered: "To everyone doubting this, why would they use some terrible four-year-old image model to make the AI art if it wasn't used for early production?"

"This is the reason you slap your placeholder textures with an ugly bright green PLACEHOLDER text so you still get the broad strokes vision but know it needs to be replaced," a fourth commented.

And a fifth added: "You know what the Hades developers used for placeholder images? Quickly sketched portraits. Maybe try that next time."

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Crimson Desert review: A game that promised the world and mostly delivered
• How does Crimson Desert really look and run on base PS5?

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