Ubisoft has officially dealt with the generative AI art found in its newly released grand-strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana, confirming that at least one controversial artwork was a placeholder asset that slipped through the internal quality checks. The game, which carries on the city-building legacy of the hallowed Anno series, was immediately put under scrutiny from its community soon after its release on November 13.
The best-selling strategy title is a sequel to the superlative Anno 1800, which effectively won praise from its graphics and hand-drawn images; the game, however, suddenly found itself under complete fire. Players were quick to point out numerous loading screens and background illustrations that bore indelible signs of AI generation. For instance, the impressionistic depictions of the Ancient Roman setting included common mistakes such as blurred faces, distorted limbs, and unnatural physical artifacts that seem far-fetched from the previously admired aesthetic of the series.
In its post-outcry statement, the developer took particular focus on a loading screen featuring a crowd at an affluent banquet. This image, according to Ubisoft, was in fact a placeholder intended for internal use and “unintentionally slipped through our review process.” Thus, the company was able to produce a newer image for this scene which is devoid of such AI markers, slated to be introduced with the upcoming 1.3 patch. Ubisoft also noted that while the record number of artists on the team makes use of AI tools for prototyping and iteration, the end experience ultimately should represent the craft and creative vision of the team.
Even while the studio’s acknowledgment and swift adjustment of the banquet scene solved the most glaring complaint, it has not silenced all debate. Several other artwork pieces in Anno 117 have raised similar questions from the community, but the publisher has not addressed the origin of these additional assets. As such, this perceived usage of generative AI content carries on showing in the final product as another striking example of the challenges facing the gaming industry as it grapples with the fast, and at times controversial, adaptation of AI tools into game development pipelines.
