Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players criticize ‘horrible’ apparent use of generative AI in calling cards in games

With the release Call of Duty: Black Ops 7enthusiastic fans criticized Activision for in-game showcases that were seemingly created using generative artificial intelligence.

The calling cards in question are from the “Jack of All Trades” campaign challenges, as well as two specific calling cards in the endgame challenges of the “Embrace the Nightmare” campaign. In the eyes of Call of Duty community members, these cards resemble AI Studio Ghibli reproductions that have been circulating online for several months.

Activision has stated that artificial intelligence was used in the development of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 game page on Steam. The obligatory disclaimer states: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some of the game’s assets.” While the disclaimer doesn’t specify which assets were created using AI, players are speculating that these calling cards are a clear example.

Both of these calling cards were circulating on the Internet on social media but also game page on Reddit. Reaction has been mixed, with some angry at the apparent use of artificial intelligence in a full-price video game. Take the user Commercial_Pirate501who wrote: “It costs $96 in my country and over $130 for the Vault edition, lol. I personally like this game, but this is [a] an absurd amount of money for a game with tons of AI-generated content.”

Another Reddit user, Loqh9 summarized his thoughts more conciselywriting, “Damn, that’s terrible, f**k it.”

Alternatively, others are not concerned about the possible use of artificial intelligence. For example, you have M3Festof1l on Xwho commented, “This looks normal. I don’t care who or what made this image, as long as it looks normal.” These are, of course, just a few opinions within a broader debate both about the use of artificial intelligence in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and game development as a whole.

Eurogamer reached out to Activision to determine whether these and other calling cards were created using generative artificial intelligence.

Earlier this year Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says “Microsoft is thriving” after the company laid off 9,000 workers as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence efforts. Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in late 2023.