Wizards of the Coast has confirmed that a recent marketing post used “some AI components” after previously denying that AI had been used to create the image.
To bring you up to speed: Wizards of the Coast shared an image to X (formerly Twitter) of Magic: The Gathering cards in a steampunk-esque setting. The image was captioned: “It’s positively shocking how good these lands look in the retro frame.” However, keen-eyed users quickly noticed some parts of the image had telltale signs of AI involvement, such as the writing on the pressure gauge and quirks in other detailed areas.
Despite accusations that Wizards of the Coast had used AI, the company denied its use in a now-deleted post (via PC Gamer). “We understand confusion by fans given the style being different than card art, but we stand by our previous statement,” the post read. “This art was created by humans and not AI.”
Now, Wizards of the Coast has made a post to both X and its official website confirming it “made a mistake,” that AI components did make their way into the image, and that it would be “evaluating how we work with vendors on creative beyond our products” to ensure generative AI tools aren’t used as part of the creative process.
“Well, we made a mistake earlier when we said that a marketing image we posted was not created using AI,” Wizards of the Coast said. “As you, our diligent community pointed out, it looks like some AI components that are now popping up in industry standard tools like Photoshop crept into our marketing creative, even if a human did the work to create the overall image.”
“While the art came from a vendor, it’s on us to make sure that we are living up to our promise to support the amazing human ingenuity that makes Magic great. We already made clear that we require artists, writers, and creatives contributing to the Magic TCG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final Magic products. Now we’re evaluating how we work with vendors on creative beyond our products – like these marketing images – to make sure that we are living up to those values.”
In the accompanying blog post, Wizards of the Coast said it would “update” the way it works with vendors “to make sure that we’re supporting the amazing human ingenuity that is so important to Magic” and that “everyone benefits from more transparency and better disclosure.”
“We can’t promise to be perfect in such a fast-evolving space, especially with generative AI becoming standard in tools such as Photoshop, but our aim is to always come down on the side of human made art and artists,” the post continued.
Wizards of the Coast made a statement only last month confirming it required artists to avoid using AI generative tools for final products after previous accusations of AI usage – such as the preview of Bigby Presents: The Glory of Giants, which featured art that used AI tools in August 2023, after which the company confirmed it wouldn’t use the tools in future products and would update artist guidelines. An image of a dwarf that appeared to be missing an arm from an X post about the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook in December also came under scrutiny for potential AI usage.
Whether Wizards of the Coast can steer clear of further controversy surrounding the use of AI generative tools is anyone’s guess. Still, given the sheer amount of backlash – even from artists who’ve worked on Wizards products, such as Jason Rainville – it’s likely that there’ll be more stringent guidelines in place to avoid further slip-ups. Here’s hoping, at least.
Lead Image Credit: Wizards of the Coast
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