[STEAM] While Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Acknowledges Deliberate AI Use, Ubisoft Pledges to Remove AI Image That 'Slipped Through' To Anno 117's Final Version

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Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft has said it will act swiftly to remove an image found within

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that contains AI-generated elements, which it says was not designed to be included in the game's final version.

Fans of the city-building Anno franchise quickly spotted a loading screen featured in the series' latest entry that was not of the same quality seen in others, with some telltale signs of AI generation: missing limbs, low-quality features and oddly composited elements.

As posted on

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, and first reported by

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, the game's Steam listing also features a warning that "AI tools were used tp help create some in-game assets." In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft noted that the image had been a "placeholder" and provided a final, human-made version of the artwork it had meant to include instead.

"This image was a placeholder asset that unintentionally slipped through our review process," a Ubisoft spokesperson said. "The final image is attached here and will replace the current version of this artwork with the upcoming 1.3 patch.

"With Anno 117: Pax Romana being our most ambitious Anno yet, we've assembled the largest team of artists ever for the franchise and to help meet the project's unique scope, they use AI tools for iterations, prototyping, and exploration. Every element players will experience in the final game reflects the team's craft, artistry, and creative vision."

Still, the final version of the image simply looks to have been retouched to clean up the original image's more wonky elements — suggesting that anything else AI-generated which did look passable will remain.

Regardless, Ubisoft's response differs from that of Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7 publisher Activision, which hit the headlines last week by simply

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— particularly in its Studio Ghilbi-inspired calling cards. In a statement, Activision said its AI use was designed to "empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players."

Activision previously acknowledged the use of AI imagery in last year's ****** Ops 6, too — though only after fans pointed out a

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.

Outside of its AI use, Ubisoft's Anno 117: Pax Romana has otherwise been warmly received. The game "is a gorgeous antique city-builder that sucked me in for dozens of hours," IGN wrote in our

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, awarding the game a 9/10 score.



Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky

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