RuneScape studio Jagex has taken down a new RuneScape 3 trailer and says it will “investigate urgently” after fans raised concerns that the trailer appeared to use generative AI.
The trailer appears to have been taken down from all official sources at the time this piece was written, but some streamer reactions are still online that show the issues. Debuting during Runefest over the weekend, the trailer revealed a new questline coming to RuneScape 3 entitled Dragon Slayer 2. This would normally be a pretty exciting update for RuneScape 3, as Dragon Slayer and its sequel are well-known and beloved high-level quests in the old-school version of the game. However, as many have pointed out, the sketchbook-style trailer features such oddities as a knight with six fingers on one hand, and in another shot, seemingly wearing Nikes:
In a post on Reddit, Jagex social media manager Alex Sween addressed the accusations:
We’re aware of the concerns raised about the Dragon Slayer 2 trailer and have taken it down, while we investigate urgently. This trailer was produced by a trusted external partner who had explicitly confirmed that GenAI would not be used. But, among other things, there’s a sixth finger and, well, that’s pretty hard to explain away. For that we apologise.
Our position is clear at Jagex: we don’t use GenAI to create our games, artwork or creative assets, and will not knowingly allow it to be used on our behalf. This is the second time in quick succession that concerns about generative AI have arisen through partners we trusted, and for us that highlights an issue with our own processes which we must address.
Immediately following RuneFest we’re overhauling our review processes, and we’re going to work with and commission creators from the community to make sure that the story of Dragon Slayer II is told to the standard befitting of such an update.
That “second time in quick succession” Sween mentions is referring to an incident just days ago in which Jagex and 100 Thieves apologized due to generative AI use being spotted in a collaborative Old School RuneScape T-shirt design. “We’re as angry as you are about this,” wrote Sween on Reddit of this incident. “We wouldn’t have approved the use of AI in any designs. We don’t use generative AI to replace the artists and developers who make our games, we don’t use it in our marketing materials, and we won’t use it in our merchandising or allow its use in partnerships.”
Fans were initially largely furious about two back-to-back genAI usages, particularly after multiple statements from Jagex asserting the technology would not be used. After Jagex’s most recent statement, some are sympathetic to the RuneScape team, which appears to have been blindsided twice in a row by external partners. “Great response overall here man,” wrote Wildest12 in a reply to Sween. “Got dealt a shit hand and youre handling it. I can totally relate to having people use AI against policy in work submissions – work in a vastly different field but it happens.”
Others are less satisfied. “You literally didn’t even watch the trailer before it was posted,” wrote Ok_Project_8078 in another comment “Even if an external partner made it, how do you explain that?”
Other announcements at RuneFest went over better, such as the reveal of a fourth RuneScape MMO in active development at the studio with a concept teaser:
