Call of Duty Fans Give Black Ops 6’s Zombie Santa Loading Screen the Finger Amid ‘AI Slop’ Backlash

Activision is embroiled in a backlash over Call of Duty Black Ops 6 in-game art that some fans have accused of being “AI slop.”

Following the release of the Season 1 Reloaded update, fans noticed a number of telltale signs in Black Ops 6 loading screens, calling cards, and art used to explain how Zombies community events work.

At the centre of the backlash is a loading screen image of Zombie Santa, aka ‘Necroclaus,’ which some have said shows the undead Father Christmas with six fingers. Others, however, believe the bottom left ‘finger’ is simply flesh falling off the little finger above it, although there are irregularities with the present boxes and ribbons in the bottom right, too. Generative AI often struggles with hands, adding extra fingers where they shouldn’t be.

Another image of a gloved hand was used to show off a new Zombies community event. It contains what looks like six fingers with no thumb on-screen, suggesting up to seven digits on this hand.

IGN has asked Activision for comment.

The release of the Zombie Santa image sparked a closer look at other images in Black Ops 6, which some in the Call of Duty community have now called into question. Redditor Shaun_LaDee highlighted three images included in paid bundles that have irregularities that could suggest the use of generative AI.

Fans are now calling on Activision to disclose the use of generative AI for art that is included in bundles that are sold. And as others have pointed out, Steam operator Valve now has AI disclosure rules that call on publishers and developers to describe how they use AI in the development and execution of their games. As part of this, Valve has told developers it will include their disclosures on the Steam store page of their game, “so customers can also understand how the game uses AI.” Currently, Call of Duty’s Steam page has no such disclosure.

In July, Wired reported that Activision sold an “AI-generated cosmetic” for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 last year. The cosmetic in question was not named, but was linked to the Yokai’s Wrath bundle released in December 2023. The store did not disclose any use of generative AI for this bundle.

This bundle cost 1,500 COD Points, the premium virtual currency sold for real-world money that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Activision each year. 1,500 COD Points is approximately valued at $15.

Wired pointed out that Microsoft, which owns Activision Blizzard after its $69 billion acquisition of the company last year, cut 1,900 staff from its gaming business just months after Activision sold this skin. The report alleged that 2D artists’ jobs were being replaced by AI at the company.

“A lot of 2D artists were laid off,” one anonymous Activision artist told the site. “Remaining concept artists were then forced to use AI to aid in their work.” Activision employees were allegedly “made” to sign up for AI training, with its use promoted throughout the business.

Generative AI is one of the hottest topics within the video game and entertainment industries, which have both suffered massive layoffs in recent years. Generative AI thus far has drawn criticism from players and creators due to a mix of ethical issues, rights issues, and AI’s struggles to produce content audiences actually enjoy. For instance, Keywords Studios attempted to create an experimental game internally using entirely AI. The game failed, with Keywords citing to investors that AI was “unable to replace talent.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].