The First Descendant is facing fan backlash over a marketing campaign featuring AI influencers. Critics have called the ads uncanny and pointless, arguing that they'll do more harm than good to The First Descendant.
The First Descendant is currently in the midst of its third season, which kicked off on August 7. Called "Breakthrough," the latest seasonal content drop introduces a NieR: Automata crossover, new dungeons, another playable character, and the Hover Bike vehicle, among other novelties. Nexon has been advertising Season 3 for weeks now, even before its official start.
The First Descendant's Uncanny Ad Campaign Misses the Mark
As part of these efforts, the South Korean publisher has recently launched a bizarre TikTok marketing campaign featuring AI-generated videos of uncanny influencers clumsily discussing The First Descendant's NieR: Automata content, the Wall Crasher boss, and other Season 3 novelties, using robotic head bobs and awkward pronunciations. The AI-generated personas are largely based on real people, including horror-themed variety streamer DanieltheDemon, PC Gamer reports. Judging by social media reactions to the campaign, fans have not taken kindly to the experiment.
The First Descendant players have decried the ads as "cringe" and unnerving, criticizing Nexon for using AI-generated clones of streamers instead of supporting actual creators. "It’s just so lazy even by AI standards," wrote one fan on Reddit, arguing that the technology could have been deployed in more "interesting" ways, like using it to bring the Descendants themselves to life. In a post that made the front page of the game's largest subreddit, user iHardlyTriHard argued that using AI-generated clones is disrespectful to real content creators, thousands of whom are enrolled in the Nexon Creators program.
The fan also criticized Nexon for allegedly deleting and re-uploading the controversial ads, speculating the move was meant to remove negative comments en masse. While the company's motivations remain unclear, YouTuber Moxsy reports at least one widely circulated AI influencer ad for The First Descendant was indeed deleted from TikTok following fan backlash.
Though The First Descendant attracted millions of players within a week of its June 2024 launch, its player base a year later appears significantly smaller, which may have contributed to Nexon becoming more experimental with its advertising and overall user acquisition efforts. Still, with the public barrage of criticism still unfolding, the publisher now appears to be rethinking its AI marketing push rather than doubling down on it. The broader concern here is clear: poorly executed advertising using AI crutches can erode player trust and push away newcomers.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 56 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- July 2, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Nexon Games
- Publisher(s)
- Nexon
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Third-Person Shooter
