As part of cost-cutting measures, Ubisoft turned to AI-generated Assassin’s Creed photos and showcased “alternate” versions of the iconic character Ezio on its social media channels for Halloween.

Ubisoft’s move drew strong reactions from fans and industry observers

The French publisher’s Latin American Twitter account shared a “fake” Ezio image, drawing both attention and criticism. Forbes writer Paul Tassi highlighted the novelty of an official Ubisoft account with 300,000 followers sharing an AI-generated artwork.

Ubisoft literally conducting layoffs this year and last month, and they're posting AI art. Unbelievable.

What the hell is the game industry doing right now. pic.twitter.com/XVbzqcbw9D

— Reid Southen 🔜 LightBox Expo (@Rahll) October 31, 2023

The post was later removed due to the character’s resemblance to a Fortnite figure and the bizarre depiction of a background character using gun grips as knives.

Ubisoft Netherlands later joined in by offering its own AI-generated Ezio with Halloween-themed elements. The post asked in Dutch for the ideal Ubisoft game for this spooky occasion, implying a fun interaction with fans.

Ubisoft shut down the entire Dutch office earlier this year and now hired a social media company to post on their platforms.

Using AI art….. https://t.co/FwDoFBBEZX

— JorRaptor (@Jorraptor) October 31, 2023

The move comes after Ubisoft announced that more than 1,000 people left the company last year as part of a cost-cutting initiative. Some departures were voluntary, while others involved layoffs in departments across Europe, the US and beyond.

Film concept artist Reid Southen criticized the juxtaposition of layoffs with the use of AI-generated art, expressing his distrust in the current state of the games industry.

Despite these challenges, Ubisoft has a workforce of over 19,000, including dedicated teams working on the Assassin’s Creed series and its various iterations. Many in the community questioned why the company didn’t utilize its existing pool of talented artists for its social media campaign.

In 2023, attention among fans increased as companies increasingly used AI-generated imagery in their marketing efforts. Tools like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney have made it easier to create synthetic art.

Therefore, while some make sense of Ubisoft’s move, others say it’s inappropriate for such a well-established company to do such a thing. What do you think? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.