Crimson Desert dev Pearl Abyss has released a groveling apology after generative AI assets were discovered in the enormous PS5 open world game.
In a statement posted to X (or Twitter) moments ago, it explained that it used the technology to help “explore tone and atmosphere” but always intended to replace them with art created in-house.
However, as discovered on Reddit this week, several assets have been found in the final game which were clearly created with generative AI. (And, honestly, probably an old model at that.)
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Now the studio has “sincerely apologised” for the error, and promised to roll out a patch which will replace the offending assets.
We’ve included its full statement below:
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.
While there’s certainly a place for AI in workflows, generative AI specifically has a bad reputation because it’s trained on the efforts of uncredited artists. This raises moral and ethical quandaries, even if the legalities around it remain muddy.
In this instance, we’d simply conclude that the art assets look bad. Many of them are nonsensical, and should have been replaced long before release.
While we can understand the scale of Crimson Desert would have made it difficult to catch every single erroneous asset, a simpler solution may have been not to use generative AI in the first place.
Either way, it’s good that Pearl Abyss has recognised the problem, apologised, and promised a patch. It’s also planning to improve the game’s “uncomfortable” controls as quickly as possible.