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Epic Games has been accused of using AI-generated art in Fortnite, as fans hunt down evidence in the recently launched Chapter 7.
The use of generative AI in video games has been a divisive topic over recent years, with games like Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Arc Raiders all using the technology to varying degrees.
While there’s an argument that it can help streamline certain aspects of game development, like administrative tasks, it’s a thorny issue when it’s used to replicate creative work, such as in-game art, dialogue, and music, which would otherwise be reliant on artists.
It’s even worse when generative AI is used by companies who have no shortage of cash to pay said artists, as is the case with Activision and Call Of Duty. Now, in the same vein, Fortnite creator Epic Games has found itself in the AI allegation crosshairs.
Following the launch of Fortnite Chapter 7, several Fortnite players on Reddit have accused Epic of using AI generated artwork on the game’s map. ‘I can’t tell if this is AI generated but the odd number of toes makes me think so,’ Reddit user Thready704 wrote, in relation to a poster which shows a yeti with a different amount of toes on each foot.
Other Redditors have highlighted other possible examples, including an emote which uses an AI generated song called Latata and other pieces of suspicious artwork.
In another Reddit post, one user wrote: ‘Say ‘No’ to AI slop. A billion dollar company should have no problem supporting real artists for real art.’
Is this Chapter 7 art AI generated?
byu/Thready704 inFortNiteBR
Epic Games has not confirmed whether these are AI generated or not, but one artist behind a Marty McFly image has posted evidence to clear up any AI accusations around that specific piece of artwork. ‘I don’t have a Reddit account but just in case people are being weird, here’s my procreate layers,’ illustrator Sean Dove wrote on Instagram.
Dove, however, acknowledged where the AI confusion may have come from. ‘I think the culprit is a clock in the background,’ he added. ‘I grabbed some clocks off image search, collaged them, and halftoned them. The numbers are bad, entirely possible I grabbed an AI clock [and] wasn’t paying attention.’
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRtKcKWjncq/
While it’s unclear if Epic has used generative AI elsewhere, the confusion and allegations are emblematic of how widespread AI has become, both in games and modern society at large.
In somewhat suspicious timing, last week Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said online game stores should remove ‘Made with AI’ labels as it ‘makes no sense’ today.
‘The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation,’ Sweeney wrote on X. ‘It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production.’
Sweeney goes onto jokingly compare AI disclosures to informing people about what shampoo game developers adorn themselves with. ‘Why stop at AI use? We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses,’ he added. ‘Customers deserve to know lol.’
Since last year, Steam requires game developers to disclose the use of generative AI on store listings. The Epic Games Store, however, does not have any such requirement.
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