Does FragPunk use AI art?

FragPunk is a new competitor in the competitive shooter scene. The hero shooter will feel like a new playground for fans of VALORANT and CSGO. But the game’s ability to keep up with the giants has raised the question—does FragPunk use AI art?

FragPunk AI art accusation, explained

While it’s tough to determine if a game used generative AI art in the planning process, there are ways to spot signs of its use in the published content. In the case of FragPunk, the new Snowfield Champion Bundle raised some eyebrows on Reddit. The initial splash art, now corrected in-game, displayed a missing finger on Serket. It’s become common knowledge that generative AI struggles when it comes to human hands, so the error drew criticism from the community.

The controversial incident caused a new wave of negative reviews on the game’s Steam page and a lively discussion over the morality of using generative AI in games. Despite this drama, it’s doubtful that generative AI art was used in the Serket splash art image. The developers have 3D models for each Lancer, ready to go. Additionally, they’d need to have the 3D model ready for the new cosmetic. So, it’s most likely that if AI was used at all, it was a background remover tool that edited Serket’s model for the final image.

Most notably, Steam has a policy that requires notifying the public if you use AI to develop your game. Considering there’s no AI flag on FragPunk’s Steam page at this time, the developers will either find themselves in hot water for lying about the use of AI, or Serket-gate was just a bad Photoshop job that got past the eyes of the publishing team.

However, in this radically evolving industry, there’s no exact science to spotting generative AI art or the assistance of AI in a game’s development. If you’re wondering why AI art has such a bad rep, it’s because the AI engines are often trained on images from artists who didn’t consent to their work being used freely in AI.

Despite the general disinterest and aversion to AI art, we may see an upward trend in the use of generative AI in the gaming industry—particularly for standalone images such as splash art, icon emblems, and load screens. The increasingly popular battle pass and microtransaction structure of live service games requires a consistent flow of content, putting pressure on the team to create and churn out new art nonstop.