Crimson Desert’s AI art was ‘unintentional,’ developer says

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has admitted that the hit open-world game contains undisclosed art created by generative AI, after fans spotted strangely warped figures in paintings within the game. The studio said Sunday that the “2D visual props” were created early in development and the intention was to replace them, but some were “unintentionally included in the final release.”

Pearl Abyss said the inclusion was “not in line with our internal standards,” and apologized for the slip and for its failure to disclose the game’s use of AI. The studio said it would audit all in-game assets and replace any AI art in future patches, as well as review its internal processes.

Pearl Abyss’ statement follows a wave of player reports of AI art in Crimson Desert after the game was released on Thursday evening. The main offender is a painting depicting a battle scene in which the twisted figures of soldiers and horses merge with each other in horrifying ways. Other AI paintings include a depiction of a man with one very short arm petting some sort of blurry creature.

Pearl Abyss is far from the first developer to find itself under fire for the inclusion of AI art in its game, unintentionally or otherwise. Everyone’s favorite 2025 role-playing game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, had some AI-created assets patched out after release, and had its Indie Game Awards wins rescinded as a result. Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios was recently forced to pledge that there would be no generative AI art in its next game Divinity after admitting its use of the technology in development.

Here’s the full text of Pearl Abyss’s statement:

We would like to address questions regarding the use of AI in Crimson Desert.

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. However, our intention has always been for any such assets to be replaced, following final work and review by our art and development teams, with work that aligned with our quality standards and creative direction.

Following reports from our community, we have identified that some of these assets were unintentionally included in the final release. This is not in line with our internal standards, and we take full responsibility for it.

We also acknowledge that we should have clearly disclosed our use of AI. While these tools were primarily used during early production, with the expectation that these assets would be replaced prior to release, we recognize that this does not excuse the lack of transparency.

We sincerely apologize for these oversights.

We are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of all in-game assets and are taking steps to replace any affected content. Updated assets will be rolled out in upcoming patches. In parallel, we are reviewing and strengthening our internal processes to ensure greater transparency and consistency in how we communicate with players moving forward.