A recent controversy has engulfed the gaming world, focusing on the promotional tactics employed by the creators of a popular free-to-play title. The central issue revolves around accusations that the game's marketing team utilized artificial intelligence to generate virtual personalities and manipulate existing video content of actual online personalities without permission. This incident has ignited a significant debate within the community regarding ethical advertising practices and the burgeoning impact of AI on digital content creation and consumption.
The game in question, a third-person loot shooter, was introduced by Nexon last year. Following its typical operational model, which includes seasonal updates adding new content, the developer reportedly disseminated promotional videos on TikTok to herald its latest season, titled 'Breakthrough.' However, vigilant players quickly discerned unusual elements within these advertisements. Observers noted that the apparent streamers featured in the clips exhibited peculiar characteristics: their voices sounded distinctly artificial, their dialogue seemed inauthentic, and their facial and head movements appeared unnaturally stiff. While such anomalies might evade the casual viewer, a closer examination undeniably revealed their synthetic nature.
A user on Reddit subsequently compiled several of these contentious advertisements, highlighting the pervasive presence of AI-generated content. This revelation sparked considerable outrage, particularly among genuine content creators who perceived these AI-driven promotions as a direct affront to their craft and livelihoods. The sentiment was that leveraging artificial intelligence for advertisements, instead of collaborating with human creators, undermined the authenticity and credibility of content creation within the gaming sphere.
Further intensifying the controversy, it emerged that one of the TikTok advertisements seemingly incorporated the likeness of a well-known horror game streamer without his knowledge or authorization. This particular ad showcased what appeared to be a deepfake of the streamer, discussing and endorsing the game. The actual streamer later vehemently denied any involvement with the game or its promotional campaign, asserting that his image and reactions were illicitly extracted from his most viewed video, subsequently altered with AI to modify his speech and vocal characteristics, and then superimposed onto footage of 'The First Descendant'. This egregious act underscored the alarming potential for misuse of deepfake technology, raising serious questions about intellectual property rights and personal consent in the digital age.
In response to the mounting public outcry, the game's developer issued a formal statement. While refraining from explicitly addressing the specific case of the deepfaked streamer, the company clarified that the problematic advertisements were not directly produced by their internal team. Instead, they indicated that these videos were submitted by external third parties as part of a 'Creative Challenge' program for TikTok creators. This program allows users to voluntarily contribute content for advertising purposes, with TikTok's system supposedly verifying copyright compliance before approval. However, the developer acknowledged "irregularities" in the creation process of certain submitted videos and stated that a joint investigation with TikTok was underway to ascertain the full facts.
This incident throws a spotlight on the challenges posed by rapidly evolving AI technologies in advertising, particularly concerning authenticity, consent, and intellectual property. The reliance on crowdsourced content and the effectiveness of current verification processes are brought into question. It also serves as a critical reminder for developers to exercise rigorous oversight in their advertising endeavors, irrespective of the content's origin, to maintain trust within their community.