New sci-fi game under fire for not disclosing AI use: “Disgrace”

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In the year 2025, the anticipated sci-fi game titled The Alters has stirred controversy among its players, who have discovered that artificial intelligence was covertly utilized in numerous visual elements, translations, and other aspects of the game.

On the 13th of June, Polish game developers 11 Bit Studios launched The Alters. So far, feedback from players has been predominantly favorable. The game currently holds an 84 score on MetaCritic and a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, based on approximately 6,000 reviews from players.

Numerous individuals find delight in the game due to its distinctive clone-centric structure, where characters create copies of the main character to ensure survival on an unfriendly planet. Nonetheless, a few have started noticing flaws in the overall gameplay.

On June 24th, a player posted an image implying that AI was involved in the game’s creation process. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the image contained text from the AI generator at the top. Recently, additional instances have surfaced online, causing some users to express anger towards the studio for failing to disclose their use of generative tools.

The Alters under fire for not disclosing AI use

In other science fiction games, such as Dead Space, you might find computer screens filled with arbitrary text. However, in this game, it seems that the text on The Alters’ screens wasn’t generated by humans.

One clear panel showcases Astronomical Findings. Interestingly, the initial message appears as if it comes from an artificial intelligence. However, the main focus is on the scientific data that follows.

Here’s a simpler way of expressing it: “Certainly, let me share an updated version that centers entirely around scientific and astronomical facts about a hypothetical journey through the Andromeda galaxy.

A different instance was noticed by a player who speaks Portuguese, highlighting some peculiarities in the game’s translation. Once more, it seems the initial response from the AI tool has been retained. “Claro!” is a line of dialogue written in their language. This translates to “Of course!” in English. The text translated into Brazilian Portuguese for this part is…

Now, what’s crucial to note among all of this is that The Alters does not disclose any use of AI. Since January of 2024, it has been a requirement on Steam for developers to confirm whether AI was used in any capacity.

A significant amount of criticism has surfaced, with many pondering the extent to which AI was instrumental in adapting the game for various regions worldwide.

In simpler terms, Lucile Danilov, a specialist in localization, expressed her disapproval on LinkedIn (first noticed by Eurogamer). She described the situation as “shameful.

Really, keeping sections of an AI prompt in a global platform? That’s equivalent to showing disrespect towards your worldwide audience.

In a response, Handon Ryu, who translated “The Alters” into Korean, acknowledged that “there is also the same problem in the Korean edition.

As a gamer diving into this game’s Korean localization, it feels like certain sections were translated using a powerful language model. However, it seems like the post-processing or editing wasn’t thorough enough, leaving some awkward phrases here and there.

11 Bit Studios has not responded to the recent controversy. We’ll keep you posted with any new information that comes up.

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2025-06-30 07:48