Fans and analysts are debating the use of generative AI in the new Kingdom Hearts Collection box art for the Switch 2 after spotting visual inconsistencies in character details.

Key Points

• Fans identified suspicious artifacts, including a five-fingered Donald Duck and distorted clock tower gears, in the Kingdom Hearts Collection promotional artwork.
• Artist DekuDraws suggests the base illustration is authentic work by designer Tetsuya Nomura, but AI was likely used to upscale or recompose elements for marketing.
• The controversy follows Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu’s public commitment to aggressively integrate generative AI into the company’s development and quality assurance processes.
• Square Enix has not yet provided an official statement regarding the specific production methods used for the new box art.

Why it Matters

This incident highlights the growing tension between traditional artistic integrity and the corporate push for AI-assisted production in the gaming industry. As companies like Square Enix pursue aggressive AI integration, they face increased scrutiny from fans who are sensitive to the potential displacement of human artists and the degradation of visual quality.