Insomniac denies AI use in Marvel's Wolverine

Insomniac Games has shot down online speculation that Marvel's Wolverine contains AI-generated assets, clarifying that a distorted in-game bathroom sign is the result of a texture-rendering bug rather than the use of generative AI tools or resources.

UV mapping bug sparks online speculation

The controversy began after footage shared on TikTok and X highlighted a garbled restroom sign inside the PlayStation 5 exclusive. The sign showed overlapping and duplicated stick figure silhouettes, prompting some players to suspect generative AI tools had been used during asset creation. A TikTok clip of the glitch passed 700,000 views, while an X post questioning whether the reported $300 million game used AI drew more than 452,000 views.

Responding directly on X, Insomniac's Director of Community and Marketing, James Stevenson, addressed the claims. "No. This is a UV map bug, and we have a fix coming. There are no AI-generated assets in Marvel's Wolverine."

A UV map controls how a two-dimensional texture wraps around a three-dimensional model, and misaligned coordinates can cause textures to stretch, collide, or duplicate on a surface, which matches the shifting distortion seen across different screenshots of the sign. Insomniac has not given a timeline for the fix but confirmed one is on the way.

A rocky launch window

The sign controversy adds to a bumpy debut for Marvel's Wolverine, which launched worldwide on PlayStation 5 on September 15, 2026, to generally favorable reviews from critics, though player reception has been more mixed, with criticism aimed at elements like its quick-time events. Analyst estimates put first-week sales at 1.9 million copies, a figure Sony has not officially confirmed.

Stevenson's denial was not limited to the bathroom sign specifically, ruling out AI-generated assets anywhere in the game and closing the door on broader speculation about Insomniac's development process.