Hotta Studio to Rework AI-Flagged Ads in PS5 NTE

Hotta Studio announced it will review and rework a small number of background advertising assets in the PS5 open-world game Neverness to Everness after players reported generative-AI artifacts on city hoardings. The developer removed one animation while it works on a replacement.

In a statement the studio wrote: “Neverness to Everness is built on human creativity. The characters, stories, and world you experience are the work of artists, writers, and designers. AI-assisted tools were used only on a small number of background and environmental assets, not on the characters or stories that define this game.” The post said the studio will rework the specific assets identified by players.

Players spotted unusual visual artifacts on advertising hoardings in the game’s city of Heathereau, prompting community members to flag the images as likely produced with generative AI. VTuber Ironmouse ended a streaming contract related to the title after stating she believed she had been told the project did not include such technology. The studio’s statement was published several days after complaints surfaced following the game’s launch.

Hotta described the affected material as background and environmental art rather than character models, story content, or primary design elements. The developer did not name which tools were used or how many assets will be reworked, saying only that the number is small and that work to replace or fix the flagged items will begin.

Other developers have replaced generated art after launch. Players and industry observers have raised concerns because generative models are trained on existing human artwork, often without explicit credit or payment to the original creators. Legal questions about dataset ownership and permission remain unresolved in many jurisdictions. Critics have also pointed to the energy needed to run large AI systems.

A survey presented at a recent industry conference found more than 30 percent of developers use generative AI in some capacity. Hotta did not provide a timetable for completing the rework or for delivering patches. The studio reiterated that the game’s characters, stories and world design were created by its human teams and that it will correct the limited background assets flagged by the community.