While Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Acknowledges Deliberate AI Use, Ubisoft Pledges to Remove AI Image That ‘Slipped Through’ To Anno 117’s Final Version
Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft has said it will act swiftly to remove an image found within Anno 117: Pax Romana that contains AI-generated elements, which it says was not designed to be included in the game’s final version.
Fans of the city-building Anno franchise quickly spotted a loading screen featured in the series’ latest entry that was not of the same quality seen in others, with some telltale signs of AI generation: missing limbs, low-quality features and oddly composited elements.
As posted on reddit, and first reported by Kotaku, the game’s Steam listing also features a warning that “AI tools were used tp help create some in-game assets.” In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft noted that the image had been a “placeholder” and provided a final, human-made version of the artwork it had meant to include instead.
“This image was a placeholder asset that unintentionally slipped through our review process,” a Ubisoft spokesperson said. “The final image is attached here and will replace the current version of this artwork with the upcoming 1.3 patch.
“With Anno 117: Pax Romana being our most ambitious Anno yet, we’ve assembled the largest team of artists ever for the franchise and to help meet the project’s unique scope, they use AI tools for iterations, prototyping, and exploration. Every element players will experience in the final game reflects the team’s craft, artistry, and creative vision.”
Still, the final version of the image simply looks to have been retouched to clean up the original image’s more wonky elements — suggesting that anything else AI-generated which did look passable will remain.
The loading screen’s current version, with elements suggestive of AI-generation highlighted by fans.Ubisoft’s final version of the loading screen, to be added in the game’s next patch.
Regardless, Ubisoft’s response differs from that of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 publisher Activision, which hit the headlines last week by simply acknowledging the widespread use of AI-generated imagery in its latest blockbuster shooter — particularly in its Studio Ghilbi-inspired calling cards. In a statement, Activision said its AI use was designed to “empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players.”
Activision previously acknowledged the use of AI imagery in last year’s Black Ops 6, too — though only after fans pointed out a particularly egregious example of a six-fingered zombie Santa.
Outside of its AI use, Ubisoft’s Anno 117: Pax Romana has otherwise been warmly received. The game “is a gorgeous antique city-builder that sucked me in for dozens of hours,” IGN wrote in our Anno 117: Pax Romana review, awarding the game a 9/10 score.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
