Is Activision Planning to Create New Big Games Using AI?

Activision surprised gamers with advertisements for new projects based on its popular franchises: Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, and Call of Duty. However, the ads themselves, created using neural networks, sparked more conversation than the game announcements.

Image: apple.com

The first ad, for Guitar Hero Mobile on Activision's social media, linked to an App Store pre-order page. The unusual, artificial imagery immediately caught users' attention, prompting widespread discussion. Similar AI-generated art soon surfaced in ads for Crash Bandicoot Brawl and Call of Duty Mobile, initially leading to speculation of hacked accounts. Activision later revealed this was a deliberate marketing experiment.

Image: apple.com

The gaming community's response was largely negative. Users criticized Activision's use of generative AI over professional artists and designers, fearing a decline in game quality—"AI garbage"—and drawing comparisons to Electronic Arts' controversial practices.

image: apple.com

Activision's use of AI in development and marketing is becoming increasingly controversial. The company confirmed neural networks are being used in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 content creation.

Following the backlash, some promotional posts were removed. Whether these games will actually launch, or if this was purely a provocative audience reaction test, remains unclear.