While the open world gacha game NTE enjoyed a big launch, a problem was emerging under the alleged use of AI.
Fans found some creative material in the output that showed the obvious use of AI for production, mostly in advertising collections in the city of Heathereau. These have been identified due to some unusual features, which are associated with the use of manufacturing AI.
The allegations led to popular VTuber Ironmouse breaking his streaming contract with the game, after he suggested he had been lied to about the use of the controversial technology. Now a few days later, Chinese dev Hotta Studio released a statement.
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“Neverness to Everness is built on human ingenuity. The characters, stories, and world you discover are the work of artists, writers, and designers. AI-assisted tools are used on a small amount of background and natural assets, not on the characters or stories that define the game.”
It has committed to updating and reworking several assets found in the game, and one awesome animation has already been removed while reworking it.
This Is Just the Beginning
This isn’t the first game to be caught slipping to produce AI in the final product, and we suspect it won’t be the last. Crimson Desert has also recently been shipped with some in-game craft items, which have been quickly replaced.
It’s a touchy subject for gamers, because the productive AI is trained for human labor, without credit or compensation. Therefore, although the goods produced are “original”, they would not exist without the effort of human artists in the first place.
The legality of all this is still up for debate, and there are also environmental concerns about AI, considering the sheer amount of electricity and power required to run large server farms behind technologies like ChatGPT.
While NTE is just the latest example of a developer being caught shipping AI-powered products, we’re sure it won’t be the last.
A recent survey at GDC earlier this year revealed over 30% of game developers are using AI for production in some way, and that means we’ll continue to see it make its way into our favorite games.