Crimson Desert shipped with paintings made by generative AI

Players noticed 2D assets in Crimson Desert that showed telltale traces of generative AI, and Pearl Abyss admitted the mistake. The studio explained that it used these materials early in development to explore the game's art direction, but they accidentally made it into the release. The developers are now reviewing all files, have added a disclosure to the game's Steam page, and promise to replace the disputed images in upcoming patches.

AI-processed from 3DNews AI; edited by Hamidun News
Crimson Desert shipped with paintings made by generative AI
Source: 3DNews AI. Collage: Hamidun News.
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Pearl Abyss has admitted that it used a generative neural network to create 2D assets for Crimson Desert. After players complained about the in-game paintings, the studio promised to replace them in upcoming patches.

Which paintings in

Crimson Desert were made with a neural network? The AI-generated assets are 2D environment elements: paintings hung throughout the game world. Players spotted typical generative-model artifacts in them.

Why did Pearl Abyss use AI to generate content?

The developers did not specify a reason, but they presented it as a mistake: the materials ended up in the release version on March 20, 2026.

Key Questions Answered

Which paintings in Crimson Desert were made with a neural network?

The AI-generated assets are 2D environment elements: paintings hung throughout the game world. Players spotted typical generative-model artifacts in them.

Why did Pearl Abyss use AI to generate content?

The developers did not specify a reason, but they presented it as a mistake: the materials ended up in the release version on March 20, 2026.

ZK
Zhemal Khamidun — CPO at Alpina Digital, product manager of AlpinaGPT. Building AI products since 2019. Hamidun News is a pet project that grew into a production aggregator with 6,000+ readers.
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