Pearl Abyss officially apologizes for the AI ​​scandal in Crimson Desert: The AI ​​was overlooked because they thought it had been replaced.

The open-world action-adventure game Crimson Desert from South Korean studio Pearl Abyss was officially released on March 20, 2026, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. However, even before its release, many gamers had discovered and reported that a large amount of the game's artwork appeared to be AI-generated, with extremely crude quality and numerous visual errors. Notably, the game failed to disclose and explain its use of AI as required by Steam's standards.

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Following a wave of criticism, Crimson Desert's official representatives posted a lengthy statement on social media to directly address the issue. The studio asserted that the presence of these AI images in the final version was entirely a technical error. They explained that during the early stages of development, the team used experimental AI generation tools to create some 2D visual materials to quickly establish the overall atmosphere and style. The original plan was for all these materials to be reviewed by the artists and replaced with the final, high-quality content before release, but this did not happen as planned.

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A statement from Pearl Abyss acknowledges that, following community feedback, they confirm that some of this material was inadvertently retained in the final release, which is inconsistent with internal standards, and they take full responsibility. The studio also expressed regret for not disclosing the use of AI from the beginning and admitted to being negligent in believing that the material had been replaced before launch. To rectify the situation, the development team is conducting a comprehensive review of all in-game resources to identify and thoroughly remove AI-generated content, and is also reviewing internal processes to clarify the cause of this oversight.

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This incident has once again sparked debate about whether this was an "unintentional error" or merely an excuse after being discovered. In the context of AI increasingly penetrating game development, where does the ultimate boundary for players lie? If more and more works utilize AI to varying degrees in the future, will the community accept it, or is it a step that shouldn't be taken?