Activision Responds to Complaints of AI-Generated Assets in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

Activision has issued a statement in response to player outcry regarding the seeming use of generative AI art assets in a number of areas of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Players have been taking to social media today to complain about images they believe to be AI-generated across the game, primarily focusing on calling card images that they claim appear to use Studio Ghibli styling, following a trend of AI-Ghibli images from earlier this year.

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In response to this outcry, Activision has issued a statement to a number of outlets, including PC Gamer, that acknowledges the issue…sort of: “Like so many around the world, we use a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players. Our creative process continues to be led by the talented individuals in our studios.”

It’s worth pointing out that the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Steam page also includes the following disclaimer: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets.” Not exactly descriptive!

This isn’t the first time Call of Duty has come under fire for this, either. This exact scenario played out back in February, when Activision admitted that it had used generative AI in the development of Black Ops 6, including in a zombie Santa loading screen that angry fans referred to as “AI slop.”

Then, just this past August, Black Ops 7 associate creative director Miles Leslie clarified the team’s stance on the technology further:

“We live in a world now, where there are AI tools. I think our official statement we said last year, around Black Ops 6, is that everything that goes into the game is touched by the team a hundred percent. We have generative AI tools to help us, but none of that goes in-game.

“And then you’re going to say, ‘Yeah, but it has.’ I’ll say it has by accident. And that was never the intention. We’ve come out and been very clear that we use these as tools to help the team, but they do not replace any of the fantastic team members we have that are doing the final touches and building that content to put it in the game.

“So everything you play: human-created and touched. AI tools in the world we live in: it’s how do we streamline it? That’s really the goal. Not replace, but streamline.”

In response, IGN asked why the zombie Santa and other generative AI images hadn’t been removed from the game yet, to which Leslie said that was not his department, and that “the team is actively looking at that stuff.” It is unclear if, why, or how Activision’s stance on this has changed over time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is out now. We’ve given the campaign a try and aren’t totally crazy about it, with our reviewer saying it’s ” a wild one thanks to the scope of its ambition, but the big swings it takes don’t always land, leaving it an uneven step down from last year.”

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.