Square Enix Clarifies Kingdom Hearts Promo Art Was Not AI-Generated
Square Enix clarified that the promotional artwork for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts Collection was not created using generative AI, despite fan suspicions. The company attributed the visual inconsistencies, such as Donald Duck having an incorrect number of fingers, to human error by the development team. This incident reflects the heightened scrutiny and sensitivity within the gaming community regarding the use of generative AI in promotional materials. It also demonstrates how easily traditional human design errors can now be mistaken for AI-generated artifacts. Players flagged the artwork after noticing that Sora's belt and shoes were asymmetrical, and Donald Duck had five fingers on his left hand but only four on his right. The collection, which includes multiple remastered titles, is scheduled for release on October 8.
## BACKGROUND
Kingdom Hearts is a long-running crossover action RPG series developed by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney, featuring characters from both universes. Generative AI models are notorious for making specific errors, such as rendering hands with incorrect numbers of fingers or creating illogical clothing details, which has led players to use these patterns as indicators of AI usage.