Recently, GOG, the game storefront and distribution platform, took some heat over the inclusion of AI-generated art in promotional imagery for a New Year sale. It received so much backlash online that an employee in the marketing department took to the GOG forum to respond the same day news broke, however, now, GOG has issued an official response in its Discord server for GOG Patrons (courtesy of Kotaku).
In the lengthy response, the GOG representative explains that the art was indeed AI generated, although this had been confirmed previously, but they explain that the banner was a WIP (work in progress) asset and was never meant to be shared. GOG also says that it “failed on at least two levels: Quality-control of the asset that landed on the front page, and then reacting quickly enough when we noticed the error.” The rep goes on to acknowledge its community’s disappointment in the use of AI, but says that GOG is a very small team that has been testing different technologies and tools that allow the team to do more with fewer hands. The full statement is available below, but it essentially seems as though GOG is incorporating generative AI into its workflows, despite the negative backlash, internally, externally, and even from the gaming industry at large.
Hi everyone, I’d like to address the case of our recent New Year Sale banner.
First of all, regarding the quality of the asset: This banner was a work-in-progress asset that we mistakenly allowed to be displayed on the storefront. This shouldn’t have happened. We failed on at least two levels: Quality-control of the asset that landed on the front page, and then reacting quickly enough when we noticed the error.
Second, I want to confirm that this WIP asset was indeed made with the help of Al tools. We hear your disappointment with the use of this technology, and see that it’s a sensitive topic for many of you.
I also want to be honest about how we chose to explore technology: We don’t have the infinite resources of the industry giants. We’re a dedicated, but small team, working our asses off every day for game preservation. To keep that mission alive, bring more games back to life, and make more games DRM-free, we experiment with tools that can allow us to do more with the limited hands we have.
We’ve been testing different technologies since our beginnings. Some experiments are successful, and some (like this banner) are not. Exploring various tech gives us the reach of a much larger team, so we never have to settle for doing less.
Lastly, I’m aware that some of you have concerns about a GOG team member leaving the Patrons Discord server. Please understand that in heated moments, people sometimes need to step back for their own well-being. That was a personal decision, and we respect it.
Thank you, everyone,
Arthur