New hit FPS FragPunk criticised for using AI art in game assets

FragPunk, the latest free-to-play FPS challenging the likes of Valorant and The Finals has proven to be very popular in the online gaming space since its launch, topping 110,000 concurrent players on Steam in its first week. Despite its meteoric success, FragPunk has recently come under fire for apparently using AI art in its in-game assets.

As pointed out by @EpicNNG and @Gloomffct on X, there are some hallmarks of AI-generated imagery in FragPunk's splash screen art and some in-game store assets. One Redditor even spotted signs of AI generated art on some in-game skins and stickers. These visual artefacts include things like characters with additional fingers, impossible physics, nonsensical shading and lighting, and general incongruence in some in-game art. 

Despite the fun gameplay mechanics and generally positive reviews from both reviewers and Steam gamers, there seems to be a negative sentiment brewing as a result of the use of AI art. 

It's unclear whether there are more instances of the use of AI art, but there is no declaration of the presence of generative AI on the game's Steam page, which has been an official requirement from Valve as of late last year. As TechPowerUp reports, Valve takes exception to AI generated art because of the copyright implications of its use. 

This isn't the first time we've seen generative AI cause a stir in the gaming community. We previously reported on the beloved indie hit, Terraria, and its tussle with AI-generated merchandise. The developer's response there seems to have strengthened the game's position with its fan base. It remains to be seen how Bad Guitar Studios, the developer behind FragPunk, will react to the criticism of the use of AI art, given its more corporate nature. 

We have reached out to NetEase, the owner of Bad Guitar Studio, who develops and publishes FragPunk, for comment, but we have not heard back as of the time of publishing. We will update this story if a response is issued.