Magic: The Gathering owner Wizards of the Coast admitted that "AI components" were integrated into its latest promotional image for the card game.
Wizards posted a formal apology on X (formerly Twitter) this Sunday a day after insisting that a human artist created the marketing image.
Well, we made a mistake earlier when we said that a marketing image we posted was not created using AI. Read on for more. (1/5)
— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) January 7, 2024
The role-playing company said that elements of generative AI came from industry-standard tools like Photoshop "crept into our marketing creative."
Wizards did not name the artist commissioned for the promotional but said that it will be updating its guidelines regarding AI use.
Artists' names are usually featured in previous promotional artworks for Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, both properties by the Wizards.
The AI controversy follows after the Hasbro-owned company laid off 1,100 positions before the end of 2023.
AI Images Surge in the Art Industry
Since 2023, the presence of AI in the art industry has continued to increase as heated discussions regarding the controversial topic have reached public forums.
The same issue remains present in 2024 with more companies, primarily those involved with art communities, posting AI-generated images in their marketing campaigns.
Electronic Arts was also accused of using AI for its latest promotional image on Apex Legends at the same time the Magic: The Gathering scandal was first reported.
The AI accusations were directed to the game's first collaboration trailer with Final Fantasy VII where several of its characters were spotted to have smudged details common in AI-generated images.
Square Enix, the publisher of Final Fantasy series, already announced to "be aggressive in applying AI" in its game development and marketing campaigns in the future.
A few days earlier, leading drawing tablet distributor Wacom was also caught using AI in its New Year's promotional images.
Social media users have pointed out that the dragon in Wacom's promotional images has several inconsistent details no human artist would mistakenly do.
Issue of AI-Generated Images
With large parts of its communities being artists, the companies face harsh criticism from its former fans amid growing issues on AI use.
Midjourney, one of the leading AI firms in AI-generated images, was recently exposed for plagiarizing tens of thousands of artists for its AI model.
Screenshots of discussions between the developers show a "laundering" of artworks and art styles for the AI to replicate.
Many of the listed artists did not consent to their artworks being used in AI training or reproduction.
