Recently, Wizards of the Coast landed itself in hot water following the use of AI art in a Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook. After apologising for that debacle, the company has seemingly jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire as now some promotional images for Magic: The Gathering have also been accused of using AI.
Initially, Wizards of the Coast denied the use of AI, but has since reversed that course and apologised to fans via a statement made on its website. The statement reads as follows:
"We already made clear that we require artists, writers, and creatives contributing to the Magic TCG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final Magic products. What's now apparent is that we need to update the way we work with vendors on creative beyond our products—like marketing images we use on social media—to make sure that we're supporting the amazing human ingenuity that is so important to Magic."
"Along with so many others, we also want to get better at understanding whether and how AI is used in the creative process. We believe everyone benefits from more transparency and better disclosure. We can't promise to be perfect in such a fast-evolving space, especially with generative AI becoming standard in tools such as Photoshop, but our aim is to always come down on the side of human made art and artists."
It's not just Wizards of the Coast that is being found guilty of using AI art, but as the company also faces criticism over its Open Game License, lay-offs and more, it's bad press that WotC doesn't need right now.