Gamers are not thrilled about paying full price for AI-generated fish helmets. Yes, apparently that’s an actual thing in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the latest video game in the first-person shooter franchise. The new entry in Activision’s unstoppable shooter franchise, co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, has allegedly rolled out a bunch of generative images that look like they were whipped up by someone running a Midjourney prompt. And players have noticed. And they’re not happy. So much so that Steam reportedly accepts “this game had AI in it that it didn’t disclose” as a valid refund reason (according to one person on Bluesky). So, if you dropped $70 and feel cheated, you might be able to complete the game and get your money back.
Over the last year, the general public has grown very sensitive to AI-generated content, especially since big tech keeps retrenching workers and replacing them with bots. Naturally, there seems to be a shift in the way everyone views the technology. Fans have been calling out Activision’s AI obsession for a while. Modern Warfare 3 slipped in an AI-generated calling card in a $15 bundle. Black Ops 6 gave us the iconic six-fingered zombie Santa. But Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 takes it a little bit further. There’s a whole load of what many players call “AI slop,” like “Reeled In,” an image where a knight loses his helmet to a fish.
Some of these cards mimic that viral Ghibli-style generation that took over social media feeds these last few months (thank goodness that’s over!). As one Reddit user put it: “It cost 96 dollars in my country and more than 130 dollars for vault edition lol. I personally enjoy this game, but this is a ridiculous amount of money for a game with tons of AI generated content.” Meanwhile, one player on X shrugged: “I don’t give a s**t who or what created the image as long as it looks normal.”
Even the prestige icons, traditionally the crown jewels of grinding your life away, look like they’ve been generated by AI.
Of course, Activision insists humans are still running the creative show. “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets,” reads the Steam disclaimer. Miles Leslie from Treyarch previously said any AI slipping into older games happened “by accident.” Activision added that the goal is to “empower and support” studios. You can imagine the faces gamers made as they read that statement.
The bigger frustration isn’t just the AI art. It’s about the company’s principles. Why is the biggest gaming series on the planet cutting corners and not paying a designer to create this art? Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 made over $1 billion in 10 days. You’d think some of that could go toward human artists not losing their jobs. Reports state concept artists have been pressured into using AI, and some 2D teams were laid off earlier this year. Meanwhile, Microsoft cut thousands across Xbox studios. Workers worry that machines are filling the roles of the people who once helped create Call of Duty’s designs.
There’s a debate to be had about AI tools in development. But charging premium prices while replacing creative craft with prompts feels like a bad deal. When you buy a game, you want to support the talent behind it, not an algorithm scraping someone else’s work.
Now, gamers are asking for their money back, and Steam is handing out refunds for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Activision now finds itself in the middle of the pushback against AI. Some fans, myself included, still believe art in video games should be made by artists. Turns out that it might have actually been cheaper just to hire a graphic designer.
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