If its use of generative AI to produce Call of Duty assets wasn't bad enough, Activision is using the controversial tech to create adverts for fake games based on its IPs. It's been noticed how the publisher is advertising on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for Crash Bandicoot Brawl, Guitar Hero Mobile, and Call of Duty: Zombie Defender — that is despite the fact they don't actually exist.
The promotional images have been created using AI, and since the games aren't actually in development, clicking on the store links associated with them takes you through to surveys to complete. "This isn’t a real game, but could be some day," reads the message. "We’d love if you could answer this short survey, which could help inform the potential future of this game. Your feedback really matters to us!"
Users are asked questions concerning why they clicked on the advert, what attracted them to it, what kinds of games they play, their expectations of the prospective experience based on the advert, and why they play games on a mobile phone.
Crash Bandicoot Brawl pitches itself as "a fast-paced, round survival game where 30+ contestants compete against one another in wacky platforming, puzzle-solving, and obstacle course challenges". Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Zombie Defender is said to be "a top-down, tactical mobile defense game where players build defenses and fight off waves of zombies in an iconic, post-apocalyptic world". Neither of them is real, however, and the assets relating to them have been made using AI.
Activision appears to be fully embracing AI production, as it recently confirmed some assets in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — such as Calling Cards — are created using the tech. The most infamous was a six-fingered zombie Santa Claus.
How do you feel about this latest use of AI in the games industry, this time from a marketing viewpoint? Share all your thoughts in the comments below.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 28
It'll take a while before its doing anything meaningful but guess it has to start somewhere
I hope there is trophy support for those surveys otherwise I'll skip them
Guitar Hero has been dead for over a decade! Only now they bring it back like this...
Just what I want Crash Bandicoot to be: live service trash.
No thank you.
Not impressed...
Utterly horrid. God if it wasn’t for Tony Hawk I’d want nothing to do with them.
If we needed more proof that Activision should be avoided at all costs these days…
Remember when they canceled Crash 5 because Crash 4 only sold over 5 million copies? Great company.
Controversial opinion maybe but as someone that works in a creative field this the right way to use AI art. It's purely conceptual and is just selling the look and feel of the game. When it worms it's way into the final product that's when I have issues.
AI along with misleading adverts, not a good look.
How autonomously does Activision operate under Microsoft? Surely the green light (Xbox pun intended) for this comes from above Activision's heads?
AI should only be used to replace executives who are trying to push AI. I'm sure AI would be smart enough to ban itself.
Garbage. I mean pure, gross garbage. I've been agnostic to A.I. thus far. But yuck. What a deceitful and unbecoming way to gather data. They'd of been better off having a concept, creating a survey and advertising it that way. I'd be much more inclined to answer these questions if it wasn't so shady. But 90+% of gamers only play FIFA, CoD, Fortnite, Roblox and the like. Still....yuck ass yuck
@Nyne11Tyme Generative AI was always going to lead to deceit, it’s pretty much the primary use case. The normalisation is how we end up at this point and this site is part of the issue, using AI generated cover images and then quietly removing them with no apology or explanation. ‘Grindset’ mentality has instilled a whole generation to set out to swindle as many people as possible in the constant pursuit of wealth and generative AI is a golden ticket to rip people off, from corporations using it to your average idiot trying to con old people with AI generated images of Elvis.
And here is a scumbag company that nobody should support anymore. This is appalling.
Completely gross, probably using AI to generate the ideas in the first place. If ever there was a death knell for a studio, doing this nonsense is it.
And yet, it’ll probably, horribly, be effective. But I really, really hope it’s not and they return to paying creatives to field test their ideas
I really doubt our disgust will matter much in the grand scheme of things. If Activision decides to sell a a zombies game where you run though gates that either add or subtract soldiers to your army while you fight off zombies...it will make so much money. If they make a fall guys style crash bandicoot...it will make so much money. The guitar hero one is the game that might be a gamble.
No they can go suck all of the dicks 😒
@jFug too late, crash team rumble exists
First Microsoft killed game ownership, now they're killing game artistry. They can all go to hell.
@jvecc This is a final product, the product just happens to also be terrible.
@Czar_Khastik platinum or I don't answer.
Disgusting behaviour for such a big name of publisher. Yikes.
To hell with Microsoft and Activision!
This is a legit scummy practice. Add more ai slop to the excessive amount of ai slop on the internet nowadays.
"This isn’t a real game, but could be some day."
The tagline for The Day Before 😂
This is despicable! I used to be so excited for what Activision would do next, but now they blatantly go to using ai instead of putting ACTUAL effort into their teasers!? UNACCEPTABLE!!! Someone else needs to stand up and make better games!
@nessisonett If you want to turn a harsh spotlight on a whole generation as you just have, then I would ask that you please look first to your own. Gen Z. If you want to understand how many people outside of Gen Z view your generation then please watch Isaac Butterfield's outrageous woke tik toks video.
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