The largest single-player game to release this year, or at least so far (looking at your Grand Theft Auto 6), is Crimson Desert. The latest creation by Black Desert developers Pearl Abyss, Crimson Desert, is a massive-scale open-world game set in the same universe as their previous game.
On its first day, the game managed to reach nearly 240,000 concurrent players. Saddled with a mixture of up and down reviews, both on Metacritic and from gaming outlets at large, the barrage of players looking to take on the continent of Pywel.
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At least, that’s what I thought was about to happen.
Pearl Abyss issues an apology
Early Sunday, March 22, Pearl Abyss took to X to issue an apology to gamers for their misuse of AI in generated assets. To start, Pearl Abyss has taken blame for the issue, stating these assets were only meant for the development phase.
“We would like to address questions regarding the use of AI in Crimson Desert.
During development, some 2D visual props were created as part of early-stage iteration using experimental AI generative tools. These assets helped us rapidly explore tone and atmosphere in the earlier phases of production. However, our intention has always been for any such assets to be replaced, following final work and review by our art and development teams, with work that aligned with our quality standards and creative direction.
Following reports from our community, we have identified that some of these assets were unintentionally included in the final release. This is not in line with our internal standards, and we take full responsibility for it.”
We would like to address questions regarding the use of AI in Crimson Desert.During development, some 2D visual props were created as part of early-stage iteration using experimental AI generative tools. These assets helped us rapidly explore tone and atmosphere in the earlier…March 22, 2026
Afterward, they admit they should have previously disclosed their use of AI, and promise to replace the assets affected:
“We also acknowledge that we should have clearly disclosed our use of AI. While these tools were primarily used during early production, with the expectation that these assets would be replaced prior to release, we recognize that this does not excuse the lack of transparency.
We sincerely apologize for these oversights.
We are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of all in-game assets and are taking steps to replace any affected content. Updated assets will be rolled out in upcoming patches. In parallel, we are reviewing and strengthening our internal processes to ensure greater transparency and consistency in how we communicate with players moving forward.”
Truly sorry, or hand caught in the cookie jar?
I’ve had the chance to observe a lot of chatter on social media over this apology, and just like the reviews, the responses have been all over the place.
On one side, you have some apologists who’ve gone above and beyond the ridiculous, saying their use of AI wasn’t an issue at all. I feel like diving into the reasons replacing art entirely through the use of AI is a horrible idea is best saved for the hundreds of articles already written on it.
Then the other, where people are chastising them for only apologizing because they’ve been caught. Perhaps, there’s a middle ground to all of this?
Take a look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Another example of a game that was released a year ago, where assets in the game were found to have been AI-generated. Once seen by the masses, Sandfall Interactive quickly patched out the affected textures.
Later that summer, Sandfall admitted to using Gen-AI in early development stages, but was quickly replaced. The producer of Clair Obscur, François Meurisseeven, told EL PAÍS, “We use some AI, but not much.
So, when it comes to Crimson Desert, why are we not as receptive to the idea that a developer used Gen-AI in a similar fashion? Is this a case of people picking favorites, or is there more to the story?
What I can say is that the story and questing haven’t helped the discussion. Many have asked whether these quests were also generated through AI, which, I can understand to a degree, but disagree at the same time.
I’ve played a few Korean-style MMOs, and while Crimson Desert isn’t an MMO, you can never take the MMO DNA out of an MMO developer. These early quests, good or not, feel tailored toward introducing gameplay systems over anything else. Story be damned, games like Lost Ark, Throne and Liberty had equally hilarious “bad” stories.
Another mark of shame on the developer comes in the form of the Spanish version. As shared by Copacolondrios on X, “The Spanish translation of the game is completely broken. It completely changes some quests, skills, and challenge texts, making them impossible to complete in Spanish. These are no minor translation errors; these are game-breaking. Please fix it!”
🔴The Spanish translation of the game it’s completely broken 🔴It completely changes some quest, skills and challenge texts, making them impossible to complete in Spanish, these are no minor translation error these are game breaking please fix it! @WillJPowers @CrimsonDesert_ pic.twitter.com/8h1UedVyvQMarch 22, 2026
As you can see from the images above, and a quick Google Translate, “Walk 10m on a rope,” is not the same as “Travel 10 m with the hook arrow.” Did Pearl Abyss use AI in Crimson Desert for Spanish translation?
How do you feel about the use of AI in Crimson Desert? Let me know in the comments below! Eager to hear what others have to say.
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