Steam is issuing refunds for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to players citing egregious AI use

Call of Duty has gone from strength to strength since its release back in 2003, when developers Infinity Ward and publisher Activision teamed up to release a title that would shape the very fabric of the modern first-person shooter. The first title was a first-person shooter with three single-player campaigns set in WWII, featuring infantry and combined-arms warfare, and a multiplayer mode with maps set in key locations from the campaigns.

The game was received with critical acclaim, winning numerous awards, including Game of the Year from multiple reviewers. The gameplay focused on squad-based play, with squadmates supporting the lead player in achieving objectives and responding differently to different situations. The game was somewhat ironically hailed for its AI-based opponents. 

Their latest addition to the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, released on the 14th of November, has, however, received some of the franchise's most negative reviews to date. The game is currently ranked Mostly Negative with over 1300 negative reviews. The only thing players seemingly enjoy is the zombies mode; BF6 should take notice.

According to data received by The Game Business, through GSD, a service “which tracks digital and physical sales across Europe,” Black Ops 7’s sales are down to 50% of its predecessor, Black Ops 6. The opening-week sales are also 63% lower than competing FPS title Battlefield 6's launch week. As reported by another data aggregator, over 25% of Call of Duty players from September, purchased Battlefield 6 in October.

The game has also been under fire from fans and critics alike for its appalling use of generative AI content. Popular content creator Bricky reported via his social media that he had finished the entire Black Ops 7 campaign and asked Steam for a refund, because "The game constantly utilized AI generated options that were not present in the marketing for the game, as well as videos and screenshots of the material," he wrote.

While most might consider asking for a refund after playing the entire campaign a bit of a reach, he later showed an image of a $69.99 refund issued to his PayPal account by Steam shortly afterwards, indicating that the platform considers the refund a fair ask.

Other users have spotted similar AI use in the game. Fans have taken to social media sharing the images of the artwork, claiming that a large amount of generative AI has been used to create “ core assets “ like calling cards, posters, and reward icons.

One fan shared an achievement art piece that looks like the AI was simply told to copy Ghibli’s art style, lamenting the game's price compared to the work put into it. Even though the developers have disclosed their use of AI, as required by Steam, some studios seem to be pushing the limits of what is acceptable to certain gamers, landing them in hot water with their user base.

Buy Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on Amazon