Panache Digital Games, the developer creating 1666: Amsterdam, has responded following players of the prologue and online commentators discovering what appeared to be AI-generated assets used within the game and to market it. A man with far too many buttons on his jacket, stacked vegetables that looked extremely odd. It was clear for a few keen-eyed gamers that not everything was human-made at this stage.
The developer has admitted as much, saying in a new post on social media that the genAI assets are just "early versions," and that human-made assets are going to replace them soon enough. "We have a dedicated team of over a dozen talented and experienced artists. With them, we looked into the assets in question and found that there were indeed some early versions of assets that made their way into the the prologue. This includes some in-game portraits and external marketing assets," Panache said.
"We are actively reviewing the assets in question. Human made versions will be released in an update dropping soon. We own up to this oversight and apologize for any upset caused. Please be assured that the Early Access and full game will not include any assets generated by AI," continues the post.
<social>https://x.com/PanacheDGames/status/2064464778723008537</social>
We've seen similar situations happen before, even with beloved games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and ARC Raiders admitting to using AI in "early" assets that end up in a full release. The use of AI is seen as a new norm these days, but many still won't accept its inclusion, and will outright refuse to buy a game with it in.