Square Enix has formally denied allegations that it used generative artificial intelligence to create the cover art for Kingdom Hearts Collection [1~3]. The response follows weeks of online speculation from fans who pointed out several visual inconsistencies in the official key art, most notably a five-fingered left hand on Donald Duck, a character traditionally drawn with four.
Addressing the controversy ahead of the collection’s planned October 8 release on the Nintendo Switch 2, a representative clarified in a statement to GameSpot that the visual errors were the result of human error rather than machine generation. The publisher confirmed that it has since revised the impacted assets to correct the mistakes, though some fans have noted minor inconsistencies remain on other character details across promotional materials.
The compilation brings together the expanded Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece bundle for Nintendo’s next-gen platform, offering native ports of major entries alongside cinematic cuts of side titles like Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Despite public pushback against generative AI across the games industry, major publishers continue to face intense scrutiny over art pipelines, making rapid fan detection of anomalies a recurring issue for high-profile remasters and releases.
Square Enix is scheduled to share further updates regarding the broader franchise during Disney’s D23 event on August 14, where a dedicated Kingdom Hearts panel will take place ahead of the series’ upcoming 25th anniversary.
