If the utterly ridiculous co-op campaign wasn't bad enough, another negative dominating the chatter around the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is its seeming use of AI artwork in-game.
In the multiplayer customisation menu, some of the Calling Cards you can attach to your profile closely resemble AI filters, such as the Studio Ghibli one that took over Twitter for a day. Other examples look to have six fingers attached to one hand, and there are suggestions that the highly coveted Prestige emblems have been modified using AI.
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You can view some examples below:
This isn't the first time the Call of Duty series has been accused — and proven — to have used AI either in its artwork, as a zombie Santa Claus from Black Ops 6 showed off its six-fingered hand in a screenshot last year.
On the Steam page for Black Ops 7, there's a disclosure confirming "Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets". In response to the launch backlash, Activision has issued a further statement, reading:
Like so many around the world, we use a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players. Our creative process continues to be led by the talented individuals in our studios.
This follows on from the discussion surrounding ARC Raiders, which is under fire for using AI instead of voice actors for some dialogue.