The well-reviewed grand-strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana has been caught using AI-generated art, and developer Ubisoft has officially commented on the matter. Anno 117: Pax Romana is the sequel to 2019's Anno 1800, which was praised for—among other things—its impressive hand-drawn artwork.
It's perhaps because of this revered artwork that Anno 117's use of generative AI has been especially notable to fans. Since the game's November 13 launch, players have pointed out several hallmarks of AI-generated images in background art and loading screens. These images, which are often meant to be vivid, impressionist depictions of Anno 117's Ancient Rome setting, contain strange artifacts, facial and limb distortions, and other common gen-AI signifiers. As it turns out, players had a right to be suspicious, as Ubisoft has confirmed and explained the use of at least one of the illustrations in question.
Like many other modern PC games, Anno 117's Steam page discloses its use of generative AI, with a statement claiming that AI tools were used to create some in-game assets, but that "the final product reflects [Ubisoft Mainz's] craft and creative vision."
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Ubisoft Admits to Using "Placeholder" AI Art in Anno 117: Pax Romana
Although several pieces of Anno 117's in-game art have been called AI-generated, Ubisoft has really only responded to one of the culprits: a loading screen illustration of a crowd at a rich banquet. This image contains what many consider dead giveaways for AI generation, with background subjects baring blurry, distorted faces and bizarre physical proportions. As reported by TheGamer, Ubisoft responded with this statement:
"This image was a placeholder asset that unintentionally slipped through our review process. The final image is attached here and will replace the current version of this artwork with the upcoming 1.3 patch. With Anno 117: Pax Romana being our most ambitious Anno yet, we’ve assembled the largest team of artists ever for the franchise and to help meet the project’s unique scope, they use AI tools for iterations, prototyping, and exploration. Every element players will experience in the final game reflects the team’s craft, artistry, and creative vision."
Ubisoft has since issued a new banquet image, which appears to be free from gen-AI staples. At the time of writing, the Assassin's Creed publisher has yet to comment on the other illustrations that have been deemed AI-generated by the public, and they appear to still be in Anno 117.
This likely isn't the last time audiences will hear about AI art in relation to Anno 117. Ubisoft claims that the AI image was a placeholder that "slipped through" its review process, but it seems somewhat surprising that Ubisoft Mainz would miss such an obvious mistake. After all, gamers noticed that these were AI images almost immediately. The sequence of events certainly isn't doing the publisher-developer any favors, since it only remedied the illustration after being "caught" by audiences, and the persistence of other ostensibly AI-generated images will probably continue to spark discussion moving forward.
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