AI Disclaimer Added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Steam

Generative AI has sparked a lot of debate in the gaming world, leading Steam to implement new rules in January 2024. They now require game developers to openly state if they are using this type of technology on their store pages. Recently, a gaming news site called CharlieIntel noticed that Activision, the company behind the popular game franchise Call of Duty, added a note to the Call of Duty Steam page. The note explains that their team uses generative AI tools to assist in the development of some in-game assets. This disclaimer seems to have been added on January 27 but went unnoticed until now.

Many players have expressed their worries about the use of generative AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. A notable example that raised eyebrows was artwork that showed a zombie Santa Claus. This eerie character had six fingers on one hand and a strangely shaped left hand, which made the artwork look odd and out of place.

This isn’t the first time gamers have voiced concerns about generative AI in video games. Back in December 2024, a game developer named The Indie Stone released a much-awaited update for their game Project Zomboid, which is a well-loved zombie survival game. Fans were excited at first because of the new features, but their excitement quickly turned into protests when they examined the loading screen artwork and saw signs that it obviously came from generative AI. The backlash was strong enough that The Indie Stone decided to remove the artwork, which calmed down the community.

Players are becoming increasingly vigilant and quick to speak out when they suspect that generative AI is being used in popular games. For example, in the previous year, the developers of League of Legends had to clarify a situation involving an emote of a character named Samira. Some players noticed that the emote depicted Samira with six fingers, which prompted the developers to explain that it wasn’t created by AI. They stated that this mistake had simply slipped through the editing process.

Polygon, a gaming news outlet, has reached out to Activision to get more details about how generative AI is being used in Black Ops 6 and plans to update the community if a response is received.

Overall, the integration of generative AI in gaming has made many players uneasy. They want to know how much of the art and content in their favorite games is created by this technology and how that affects the overall quality of the gaming experience. As game developers increasingly adopt this technology, the debate over its role in the industry is likely to continue. Many in the gaming community insist that while AI can assist in development, it shouldn’t replace the creative touch that human designers offer. At the heart of the matter is the desire for transparency from developers about how they create the games that players love.