In a nutshell

• Pearl Abyss admits AI-generated assets were unintentionally included in Crimson Desert.
• The studio apologized and pledged to replace affected content in future patches.
• Despite backlash, the game sold over two million copies on launch day.

Pearl Abyss has issued an apology after players discovered AI-generated assets in Crimson Desert. The studio confirmed that some experimental props created with generative AI tools were mistakenly left in the final release.

Crimson Desert AI Assets Spark Controversy

As reported on Reddit, players saw bizarre visuals in-game, including distorted horses and odd character models. These added fuel to the ongoing fire, especially since Crimson Desert already faced mixed reviews on Steam due to various issues.

Check out the few examples below:

Pearl Abyss Responds

The studio acknowledged the oversight and admitted it failed to disclose the use of AI tools, which goes against Steam’s policy. In a statement, Pearl Abyss 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.”

“We sincerely apologize for these oversights. We are conducting a comprehensive audit of all in-game assets and will replace affected content in future patches.”

Pearl Abyss explained that the AI-generated props were used during early development to explore tone and atmosphere. While the plan was to replace them with finalized art, some slipped through into the launch build. The developer also promised to strengthen internal processes to ensure transparency moving forward.

Another title in recent memory found in a similar situation was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Despite this, Crimson Desert is performing well on Steam, with 248,530 peak players and a 68.5% user rating based on over 50,000 reviews.