In a statement made today on the Magic: The Gathering websiteWizards of the Coast has confirmed its anti-artificial intelligence policy, clarifying comments they made to X (formerly Twitter).
The statements come after fans began to speculate that some of the art teases for the 2024 Player’s Handbook planned for next year were based on artificial intelligence, as some believed that a dwarf figure was missing from one of his hands.
That image, coupled with layoffs at Wizards earlier this year, which included some artists and a job listing for a “touch artist,” led some to speculate that the company had plans to replace some of their artists with art tools. intelligence.
Wizards responded to questions about the Player’s Handbook art in X yesterday, writing: “We confirmed with the artist that no genetic AI was used, which is consistent with our artists’ guidelines to limit it.
— D&D Beyond (@DnDBeyond) December 18, 2023
Then today, he issued a full statement, which reads:
For 30 years, Magic: The Gathering it’s built on innovation, ingenuity and the hard work of talented people who sculpt a beautiful, creative game. That doesn’t change. Our internal guidelines remain the same when it comes to AI tools: We require artists, writers and creatives who contribute to Magic TCG to refrain from using artificial intelligence generation tools to generate final Magic products. We work with some of the most talented artists and creatives in the world, and we believe that these people are the ones who make Magic exceptional.
Artists familiar with the company also took to social media to vouch for Wizards of the Coast as well.
I know we all want to see companies burn down, but WotC was one of the few that was staunchly anti-AI from the start and nothing but support for the artists. I have no idea where the “Hasbro firing mostly artists” narrative even comes from. 1/2 https://t.co/Z7IMJ5SvLV
— Christina Kraus 🌱🐺 (@ElbenherzArt) December 20, 2023
As someone who is-
A) constant anti ai
B) lack of confidence in the body
C) had the top of the aragon illustration extended upwards by a house-top devotee who would have said his duties– I know this is a hamburger with nothing. Focus your Ai fighting efforts elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/xomdMxkWCO
— Jason Rainville (@JasonRainville) December 20, 2023
Other artists have tried to clarify that the existence of touch up artists does not imply a transition to art created by artificial intelligence, clarifying that touching up art after it is commissioned is a common practice:
In gaming, almost all outsourced art is touched up in-house, either for quality/style or re-use for marketing. WotC hiring a “touch artist” doesn’t mean it’s turning to AI…
Stop retweeting conspiracies from people who don’t even work in game art.
— Jon Neimeister (@Andantonius) December 20, 2023
Wizards of the Coast plans to release the updated 2024 Player’s Handbook, along with the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual next year, which IGN got a chance to get a first look at when we visited their headquarters earlier this year.
Travis Northup is a freelance writer at IGN.