Pearl Abyss confirms Crimson Desert "unintentionally included" AI-generated assets, and promises to remove them

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss admits “experimental generative-AI tools” were used in early iteration, and should have been replaced.

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss "sincerely apologizes" for AI-generated assets that are present in the current version, saying it will work to replace them all. Several paintings found across the open-world game had been raising eyebrows for bizarre errors reminiscent of early AI image generation. The game's creator confirms, "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."

The paintings in question include one particularly notable artwork found in Oakenshield Manor, in the southwest of the first major town in Crimson Desert. It shows knights on horseback, but the 'horses' are bizarre two-legged abominations, and several warp together with the riders on their backs. While not addressing any of the individual images directly, Pearl Abyss confirms that some AI-generated props originally intended as placeholders were left behind in the final, shipping version of the game.

"During development, some 2D visual props were created as part of early stage iteration using experimental generative-AI tools," the developer writes. "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."

"We are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of all in-game assets and are taking steps to replace any affected content," Pearl Abyss continues. "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."

Along with this confirmation, Pearl Abyss addresses the fact that the Steam store page did not include a disclosure, which has now been added. "We 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."

Valve recently updated its AI disclosure rules to stress that declarations are focused on in-game elements that "ship with your game, and are consumed by players." This means assets used purely in the development process wouldn't necessarily fall foul of the restrictions, but the fact that they made it into the final game does. Either way, I'm happy to see Pearl Abyss addressing the problem and action being taken to correct it, although I would rather it hadn't happened in the first place.

In more good news for those who are sticking with the behemoth adventure, Pearl Abyss has also confirmed that it is "aware of the discomfort many players have experienced with the controls." Its unconventional, often convoluted layout offers little option to adjust it on either controller or keyboard and mouse. The developer says it is "preparing a patch to address this," and also offers an apology "for not providing keyboard and mouse players with a satisfactory gameplay experience."