Crimson Desert players think they have found an AI painting in the game

Crimson desert is currently under heavy fire from its own community as players debate whether the game contains AI-generated art. While Crimson desert managed to dominate the sales charts right after its release, the discovery of some very strange visuals caused many fans to question the studio's development process. The ambitious open-world title has already moved millions of copies, yet finds itself in the midst of growing controversy over how modern technology could replace human creativity.

The game landed on store shelves on March 19 after several years of significant delays. In a massive win for developer Pearl Abyss, Crimson desert sold over 2 million units in just 24 hours, making it one of the biggest releases of the year so far. However, the actual reaction from players and critics has been surprisingly mixed, with the game currently sitting at an 80 on OpenCritic. While many fans are having fun, others are frustrated with the last-minute inclusion of Denuvo and some serious performance issues on PC. The situation became so complicated for some users that the studio actually recommended requesting a refund if they were trying to play on certain Intel hardware.

AI Art controversy in the world of Pywel

The new adventure takes place on the continent of Pywel, where players control a group of mercenaries fighting for survival in a war-torn landscape. As players explore Crimson desertThe first large city, the environment is full of small details that aim to create an authentic and immersive medieval environment. In the mansion near Dakenshield's southwest gate, players can find a staircase decorated with paintings in large, expensive-looking gold frames. The problem started when players started zooming in on these decorations and found what they believed to be “AI slop.” One particular image looks like a complete nightmare, where people and horses seem to melt into one chaotic mass.

Redditor Rex_Spy pointed out that some of the horses have extra legs growing out of their tails, and some characters apparently have “funky toes” that no human would ever draw. Another player, Ok-Error-403, shared on Reddit that it was a huge disappointment to see these messy assets in such a premium game. A professional artist named Large-Ad523 even joined the discussion to explain that the perspective and art styles are a complete mess, mixing different historical periods in a way that proves the paintings were not actually painted by a human.

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This discovery is particularly serious because it could violate the rules set by major PC stores. Starting in early 2024, Steam began requiring all developers to disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence in their games. Crimson desert has no such designation, leading users like Trizzizzle to claim that the studio is being dishonest about its “handcrafted” experiences. That's according to a statement from marketing director Will Powers, who earned praise last month for promising to involve every NPC Crimson desert spoken by a real actor.

The community is now locked in a heated debate between those who are outraged by the possible AI in the game and those who think the drama is over the top. Some Reddit users have already called for a full boycott, saying that seeing the “nightmare” in the game at full price is enough to bring it back. Others claim that these are just small details on the wall that do not affect the actual enjoyment of the game. A popular theory among fans is that these images were just a placeholder asset that someone simply forgot to replace before the game went gold. Regardless of how they got there, players will be on high alert for more strange visuals as the game continues. For many, the hope is that Pearl Abyss will eventually replace the “mutant horses” with actual human art to restore the game's identity. Some reviewers even suggested that the writing and NPC dialogue felt slightly “off”, leading to further theories that AI may have been involved in the scripting process as well.