While fans of competitive Apex Legends and the Guild Esports organization should be excited about signing the Australian roster from Serenity, the obvious and subpar use of AI imagery in the team’s announcement has fans distracted.
In the post itself, fans were immediately distracted by and drawn to what appear to be AI-generated images of Apex Legends characters Bangalore, Wattson, and Horizon, who look nothing like their in-game appearances. Many think the character that’s supposed to be Horizon looks more like Tracer from Overwatch.
The announcement drew several replies and quote tweets of fans criticizing or mocking the esports organization founded by soccer legend David Beckham, who co-owns the Inter Miami team in Major League Soccer. Beckham’s soccer team saw a massive spike in valuation in 2023 after the legendary Lionel Messi, who is also an esports organization co-owner by way of KRÃœ Esports, joined the team.
Many of the replies point out that the assets and images of the actual characters are free to use, and ridicule Guild for allegedly not using graphic designers in any capacity.
Some of the outrage to the post appears somewhat amplified by the organization’s association with the Saudi-backed Esports World Cup. Guild is one of 30 teams that accepted invites to join the Esports World Cup Foundation’s Club Support Program, which provides direct financial support to participating organizations. A few fans replying to the post are incredulous at the idea that Guild will be sticking around Apex Legends fully after the conclusion of the Esports World Cup this summer.
The organization has not yet responded to the public backlash towards the announcement, which has drawn eyes away from the signings themselves. The Serenity players recently finished 11th in the ALGS Split One Playoffs this past May.
