Crimson Desert Update: Pearl Abyss Admits AI-Generated Props in Game, Promises Replacements

The debate around developers using AI continues, as an official Crimson Desert post on X has revealed that AI was used during the game’s development.

As more studios begin to adopt AI tools to help prepare for game production, developers are increasingly searching for faster ways to create new titles. Many AAA and even indie games can take approximately seven years to develop and cost millions of dollars to produce. As a result, developers are turning to AI to help speed up the planning phase of production.

Pearl Abyss has acknowledged using AI but stated that they did not intend to leave any pre‑production AI assets in the final game. However, players have since shared findings on social media that appear to show AI‑generated assets still present, prompting Pearl Abyss to follow up with an official statement.

“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 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. “

What do you think? Was this simply an oversight that will be corrected in future patches, or did Pearl Abyss know the assets were there and hope players wouldn’t notice? Let us know in the comments.

Crimson Desert has also released a new patch, Patch 1.00.03, which includes a variety of fixes with a particular focus on controls.