Pearl Abyss has apologized for including AI-generated art in Crimson Desert, which launched on March 19. The studio confirmed that some 2D visual props were created using generative AI tools during early production, intended as placeholders to be swapped out before release. They weren’t.
The oversight also put Pearl Abyss in violation of Steam’s AI content disclosure policy. That has since been corrected on the game’s Steam page.
In its statement, Pearl Abyss accepted full responsibility and announced a comprehensive audit of all in-game assets, with plans to replace the affected content in upcoming patches and tighten internal review processes going forward.
It’s not an isolated incident. Ubisoft and 11 Bit Studios have both faced similar situations where AI-generated placeholder assets made it into shipped games without disclosure. The pattern is becoming familiar: tools used experimentally early in production, placeholders that were supposed to disappear, and a release process that didn’t catch them in time.
Whether that’s a workflow problem or a disclosure problem probably depends on who you ask. Pearl Abyss is framing it as both.

Collections

Pearl Abyss apologized for shipping undisclosed AI-generated 2D art assets in Crimson Desert, which launched March 19. The studio confirmed the assets were created with generative AI as early-production placeholders that were never replaced before release, violating Steam's AI content disclosure policy. Pearl Abyss has since updated the Steam page, announced a full asset audit, and plans to replace affected content in patches while tightening internal review processes. The incident mirrors similar cases at Ubisoft and 11 Bit Studios, highlighting a recurring industry pattern of AI placeholder assets slipping through release pipelines without disclosure.

Pearl Abyss apologizes for undisclosed AI art in Crimson Desert, promises audit