Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 developer is being accused of using AI generated artwork
One of the biggest games of the year with a seemingly unlimited budget appears to be using AI artwork
🤔 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is facing AI accusations
👀 It looks like some artwork has been created using artificial intelligence
✋ Two images have been flagged that have the telltale sign of AI: weird hands
🤖 Coca-Cola recently used AI to create its Christmas adverts, as more companies begin using the technology
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a game that almost has unlimited resources at its disposal, but that hasn’t stopped what appears to be AI-generated artwork from being used in the game.
Players have accused publisher Activision of using AI artwork for some of the game’s loading screens, which includes a zombie Santa that appears to have six fingers. AI famously struggles with human hands, often throwing in one too many digits.
However, some believe the extra finger is actually the curb of a road, while others suggest the skin has fallen away from the bone, creating the illusion of Santa having an extra pinky. Either way, it’s suspicious.
I must say, the more you examine the image, the more AI-like it seems. It has that overly stylized and detailed look. And while it might not be artificially generated, it’s getting harder and harder to tell these days.
The zombie Santa isn’t the only artwork that players of Call of Duty have flagged in Black Ops 6, though. Another image showing a gloved hand holding ‘Gobblegum’ has also come under scrutiny.
One user on X shared a picture of the image and said, “No way these morons at Activision just dropped another too-many-fingers AI slop Call of Duty graphic LMAO.”
Looking at the glove, not only do the Gobblegums look super imposed onto the palm, but the rougher texture continues past the little finger, making for one strange looking hand.
Players believe the use of AI – if that’s indeed what has happened – is nothing more than a cynical cost-cutting measure by Activision, despite Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 being the “biggest release in franchise history” thanks to its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Recently, Coca-Cola came under fire for using AI for its Christmas adverts, which definitely would have saved it a few hundred thousand dollars as opposed to hiring humans to undertake the work.
We’ll have to see if Activision acknowledges the AI accusations, or if the artwork quietly disappears in the future.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.