Photo Credit: Thready704 (Reddit)
The latest chapter of Fortnite has fans claiming Epic Games used genAI art, but one artist denies those allegations.
Fortnite Chapter 7 has dropped, featuring a new map and loot, as well as several quality of life upgrades for a better player experience. But some players claim a rather unwelcome change was made to their favorite game: Epic Games is accused of using generative AI in the creation of some of Fortnite’s new in-game posters and art.
Over the weekend, players posting on Reddit called out multiple instances of in-game art that were potentially made using AI. The first, which sparked a plethora of debate, is a poster for the fictional movie Mile High Retreat, featuring a sasquatch or yeti with a strange number of toes. An inaccurate number of fingers or toes has become an infamous sign of potentially AI-generated art.
Another suspected offender was rapidly debunked (at least to his knowledge) by illustrator Sean Dove on Instagram. “I think the culprit is a clock in the background. I grabbed some clocks off image search, collaged them, and halftoned them. The numbers are bad, entirely possible I grabbed an AI clock [and] wasn’t paying attention.”
The veritable witch hunt for AI content in Fortnite comes on the heels of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney’s remarks on AI disclosures on game stores, such as Valve’s Steam. Sweeney wrote on social media that he thinks such disclosures are unnecessary.
“The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation,” wrote Sweeney on X. “It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production.”
Sweeney also added that the use of AI coding tools at Epic Games is “not true.” But even if that’s accurate, it doesn’t negate the possibility of genAI’s use in the creation of the game’s latest art assets.
But dozens—perhaps hundreds—of user-made in-game Fortnite experiences definitely use AI artwork for their thumbnails. Epic Games has previously said that this is “pointless” to police, and that the technology will evolve so rapidly that eventually it will be “impossible” to distinguish from traditional art. That might not matter to the lion’s share of Fortnite’s player base, but it’s certainly concerning for a vocal minority.
