Keen-Eyed Fans Spot Activision Admitting To Using AI In Black Ops 6, & Players Are Not Surprised

In a new controversy for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the game's Steam page has confirmed suspicions that the game is making use of AI-generated content. Released in October 2024, Black Ops 6 had a record-breaking launch, although the player count has trended downward since. With the introduction of a new AI disclosure policy from Steam, it's been confirmed that the game is using generative AI in certain capacities.

As spotted by charlieINTEL on X, the Call of Duty Steam page now discloses that "Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets." Prior to this explicit confirmation, players had already suspected the use of AI in several of the game's assets, noting potential indicators like hands with the wrong number of fingers and nonsensical room layouts in some of the game's loading screen images. Notably, however, it has not been disclosed exactly where AI is being used in Black Ops 6.

Activision Has Admitted To Using AI-Generated Content In Call Of Duty

The Call Of Duty Steam Page Now Discloses The Use Of AI For In-Game Assets

The disclosure on the Call of Duty Steam page is likely the result of a new Steam policy, announced in a January 2024 Steamworks Development post, that requires developers to disclose any use of "Pre-Generated" or "Live-Generated" AI content to Valve. The main purpose of this policy is to let Valve avoid the possibility of "illegal or infringing content" making its way onto Steam, but it also means that any AI disclosures will be visible on a game's Steam store page.

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This policy would allow players to note which games use generative AI and potentially avoid playing them. Generative AI is controversial for a number of reasons, and a substantial portion of players would prefer to avoid any game that uses it. Unfortunately, in the case of Black Ops 6, the disclosure of AI-generated content comes several months after the game's initial launch, when many players have likely invested a significant amount of money and time into the game.

Call Of Duty Fans Are Not Shocked At This AI Revelation

Black Ops 6 Was Already Facing Backlash For The Use Of AI

A zombie wearing a Santa Claus outfit in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It is reaching towards the screen with one hand, which appears to have six fingers.

Before the disclosure was added to the Steam page, Black Ops 6 was already undergoing scrutiny, as players spotted some notable signs of in-game AI content. Most notably, the "Necroclaus" loading screen showed a zombie Santa Claus with what looked like six fingers on one hand — a common anatomical error for images generated by AI. Online response following the confirmation has been largely negative, adding to existing Black Ops 6 controversies.

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In response to the post from charlieINTEL, several players have started to criticize various aspects of the game for poor quality as a result of AI generation, with users like KevinOConnorNBA mentioning "horribly designed buildings" and zach33white calling out several other aspects of the game, including voice acting and calling cards. It's important to note, however, that the use of AI for content like voice acting or in-game map layouts has not been confirmed.

The use of generative AI in game development concerns players for a number of reasons. Quality is first and foremost, as AI-generated content generally comes with many noticeable flaws, but many anti-AI stances also object to the technology's potential to harm actual human creators, pushing them out of their jobs. As part of one of the most profitable video game franchises in existence, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 hardly needs generative AI to function — and as the inclusion of AI-generated content sparks backlash from players, it may harm the game more than it helps.

Sources: chalieINTEL/X, Steam (1, 2), KevinOConnorNBA/X, zach33white/X